At first, I thought it would be better to wait a while before I write anything about Prophet Song (2023) by Paul Lynch, just to calm down a little andAt first, I thought it would be better to wait a while before I write anything about Prophet Song (2023) by Paul Lynch, just to calm down a little and catch my breath, but then I realized that my ability to build coherent sentences about this reading experience might diminish over time. I devoured this novel in two days. It trapped my attention from the first sentence and ensnared me at once.
Prepare to have your emotions wrapped around Paul Lynch’s finger and the strings will be pulled tighter and tighter with every page. The thing I found most impressive about this novel is its atmosphere. The tension keeps growing gradually and the feeling of menace is more and more suffocating.
The word exhilarating in the blurb baffled me as I found Prophet Song one of the darkest and most depressing books I have ever read. It depicts the rise of totalitarianism resulting in civil war, seen through the eyes of a family with four children. The novel is set in Ireland at an unspecified time but judging from the technology the characters are using it is contemporary. Bertolt Brecht's motto about the dark times was a perfect choice: the novel protagonist, Eilish, is akin to Mother Courage, dealing with unimaginable traumas. She does her best to keep her family together against all odds. By the way, Mother Courage's son is called Eilif which sounds so similar to Eilish. Both Brecht and Lynch's portrayals of motherhood in the time of moral apocalypse are heart-wrenching.
The relief coming from the fact that Prophet Song is a dystopian novel doesn't last long as there is nothing unrealistic about the plot: the nightmarish events could have happened anytime, anywhere. Some passages hit unsettlingly close to home: The government has taken control of the judiciary by putting their own people in, that’s the nub of the problem, once you get your own people in you can do whatever you like. Sounds exactly like Poland at the moment.
Maybe one year and a half ago I would have found Paul Lynch's vision of totalitarianism overdrawn but the war in Ukraine proves that it's not. I couldn't stop thinking of Ukrainian children while reading passages like this: She whispers to him though there are no words for a child this age, no explanation for what has been done and yet what the child will never recall from memory will always be known by him and he will carry it as poison in the blood.
Some reviewers complain about the oddity of Paul Lynch's style which is quite unusual indeed. For me, it was definitely this novel's forte. It blends detailed realistic descriptions with dreams and snippets of prose poetry.
Prophet Song crushed me almost physically. I owe it a sleepless night. Maybe the concentration of bleakness and darkness in this novel is exaggerated. Sometimes it felt overwhelming, almost insufferable. On the other hand, this book is a clear warning and warnings are seldom whispered or painted with watercolours.
It doesn’t take a prophet to foresee that Paul Lynch’s novel will make it to the Booker shortlist and may not stop there.
[image] Pablo Picasso, Mother and Child, c. 1951....more
Another case of theory and reality diverging unexpectedly: there was every indication that I would love Western Lane (2023) by Chetna Maroo and alas, Another case of theory and reality diverging unexpectedly: there was every indication that I would love Western Lane (2023) by Chetna Maroo and alas, I did not. It is a subtle, quiet, moving coming-of-age novel and I just adore this kind of book. Unfortunately, something didn't quite work for me here.
Western Lane is a touching story of how a family of Indian origin living in Britain copes — or rather fails to cope — with the death of their mother. What sets this short novel apart from quite a few written on a similar subject is that sport, specifically squash, plays an important part in it. The eleven-year-old narrator, Gopi, develops an obsessive passion for it. Squash becomes a sort of escape that allows her to take her mind off the loss her family is facing. It is also a weird platform of communication with her father, for whom it is also a kind of escapism. Maybe it's an over-interpretation, but it seems to me that squash in this novel can also be a metaphor for life and relationships. The premise was interesting but the execution in my opinion leaves a bit to be desired. Chetna Maroo's book reminded me of two novels: Gifted by Nikita Lalwani and Somebody Loves You by Mona Arshi. To be honest, Western Lane pales a bit in comparison with them.
Maybe if I were a fan of squash or tennis, I would have reacted to this novel more enthusiastically. The descriptions of matches and training sessions did not appeal to me much. Moreover, the coldness of the young narrator kept bothering me throughout the book, although certainly the family trauma justifies Gopi's apparent lack of emotions. Nevertheless, I wish Chetna Maroo had created a stronger connection between the protagonist and the reader. This would have made the story more impactful.
Leaving aside these caveats, I am impressed by the tact and delicacy with which the author approached the difficult subject. What is left untold is often more important in this novel than the things expressed with words. I often have trust issues when an author chooses an easy tearjerker as a topic, but this time I shouldn't have worried: there is absolutely nothing schlocky, mawkish or schmaltzy in the way Chetna Maroo deals with it. And she needed so few pages to convey so much.
[image] Miki de Goodaboom, Emma Raducanu Dream 01....more
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