2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion

This thread is to discuss Prophet Song by Paul Lynch.

Pages: 320 pages

Length: 1 month (April)

Participants: Valerie, Lorraine, Jen, Parvin

Everyone reads at their own pace during a Buddy Read. Because participants can be at different parts of the book at different times, it is extremely important to mark spoilers so that the book is not ruined for someone who is not as far along as others!!!

Mark spoilers by placing {spoiler} before the text and {/spoiler} after the text but use the < and > instead of the { and }.

I should start this book around April 8th.

I'm waiting for it to come in at the library, hopefully soon.

Should start this next week.

Started today and have read the first two chapters. He has quite an original writing style which took a bit of getting used to but I like it’s twists and turns which are making me read more slowly than normal to fully understand.
I like (view spoiler)[ the way the normal everyday demands of life are mixed with the growing menace. It makes the characters seem so ordinary with their dangerous belief that things like this can’t happen to them/us because their/our country is somehow immune and different from all the places it has happened (hide spoiler)]

Halfway at the end of chapter 5. What makes this book so interesting and thought provoking is (view spoiler)[ that Eilish is such an unusual protagonist for this type of story. Aside from dealing with the increasing menace of an authoritarian regime, she also has the mundane problems of a teething baby, stroppy teenagers and a stubborn father with the beginnings of demencia. Real life basically. She’s trying to hold it all together by keeping her head down which is understandable given her family situation but I suspect untenable for much longer (hide spoiler)]

Finished.
(view spoiler)[ it’s not often I feel I’m inhabiting a book, but this story really did get to me. From Eilish’s journey from disbelief (because things like that don’t happen here) through to its chilling end at the edge of the sea, it made the plight of millions both human and individual. It is a harrowing but timely read which will certainly live on in my mind (hide spoiler)]

Hopefully my husband will remember to pick it up from the library today and then I can start.

Wow! Already finished Valerie! I’m impressed! Like you say in your comments for Aril 5th, this is not a style easy to read. But like you, after two chapters it does become easier. That being said, not sure I can do more than 1 chapter a day. I found it very interesting that the author has chosen (view spoiler)[ Ireland for the action of his book. This is not a country we can imagined becoming authoritarian (not sure my english is good here…). I like also that we are left unsure of the reason this is happening. Because of unions? Doesn’t make sense…<\spoiler> (hide spoiler)]

Just finished chapter 3 and cannot stop thinking about this sentence, (view spoiler)[ «  history is a silent record of people who did not know when to leave » . I understand it is easier said then done but I feel she should have left with her children as soon as her father told her she should do it…<\spoiler> (hide spoiler)]

I have it now. Can we agree that if we're more or less where we should be, we don't have to mark every post as a spoiler? I don't mind them even if it's in the chapter after where I'm at. I find the tags more annoying than seeing that the book is set in Ireland, which was mentioned in every story about it.

Jen wrote: "I have it now. Can we agree that if we're more or less where we should be, we don't have to mark every post as a spoiler? I don't mind them even if it's in the chapter after where I'm at. I find th..."

Agree

Lorraine wrote: "Just finished chapter 3 and cannot stop thinking about this sentence, [spoilers removed]"
I think she didn’t leave because of her husband’s situation but also because she still believes that somehow things will work out - she’s still in denial that this could happen in her country.

Valerie wrote: "Halfway at the end of chapter 5. What makes this book so interesting and thought provoking is [spoilers removed]"

I just finished chapter 5 so could read your spoiler. It’s funny cause I have a different reaction to (view spoiler)[ Eilish having to deal with her father beginning of dementia, teething baby etc. I feel that the author is going everywhere instead of focusing on it’s major topic. But reading your comment also made me realize that if this would be happening in my country in real life, we would have to take care of our aging parents, house problems etc. But I still think she is in denial. Denial is so strong in human. The author really gets it! <\spoiler> I also wonder how a population can chose to elect a representative of the party we are reading about. Like, why would you chose someone who you know will limit your liberties? (hide spoiler)]

I do think that all the other stuff in her life does make her lose focus (view spoiler)[ at this stage a cold rational response would be to cut her losses and get out but she keeps getting distracted by her feeling of responsibility. I agree that she is in denial- she’s trying to hold together a life that no longer exists (hide spoiler)]

Finished. (view spoiler)[This book made me feel so many emotions that I do not know where to start. I was upset at Eilish so many times for not leaving at the start. I am not a mother but I felt she was not taking care of her children correctly because of her denial of the reality. At one point I wonder if she was not having a psychosis. It was also very disturbing to see how humans can be non empathic to each other in times of war. We do not see a lot of human compassion in this book. And at one point you do not see a big difference between the party and the rebels…<\spoiler>
For me too, this book will stay with me for a long time. I need to make sure that for a month or 2, I do not read a book so though. I understand why he won the Booker prize. A great book very well written. (hide spoiler)]

Lorraine wrote: I also wonder how a population can chose to elect a representative of the party we are reading about. Like, why would you chose someone who you know will limit your liberties?
Even in democracies, we accept limitations on our liberties. For example, even in the United States, it is illegal to shout 'Fire!' in a crowded theater if there isn't a fire. And we also vote in governments that will impose the restrictions we want. There are still plenty of developed, liberal countries where gay marriage isn't legal, and the elected governments have no interest in making it so. There are plenty of people who don't like unions or strikes, so it's not that surprising that they'd vote in a government that restricted their power. And there are also plenty of people whose travel is restricted even in wealthy countries because of their political beliefs. So none of this is surprising to me.

Now I have a question:

Prophet Song is written with an unusual structure. The sentences are long and the author eschews the use of paragraphs. Why do you think he has chosen to write the story in this manner? Is it successful in creating atmosphere around the reading experience?

I find it very stream of consciousness: we're basically experiencing Eilish's thoughts and actions as they happen. The format contributes to that feeling of this is all happening in real time. Of course the atmosphere is also supposed to be tense, which I'm also finding. As each little event chips away at her worldview that she lives in a liberal democracy, I'm on the edge of my seat wondering what's going to happen next.

I haven't read much James Joyce, but my understanding is his books are similar in structure. Though I find this much easier to read.

Yes there is definitely a Joyce influence but it’s not so extreme or so difficult to follow as, for example, Ulysses. For me, the way it is written takes you inside Eilish and you really see things from her point of view, it’s easy to judge her but who knows if I’d be any more decisive. Certainly creates tension which builds all the way to the end..

At one point someone asks her why she doesn't go over the border to Northern Ireland, which Irish people can do without any passport checks. Her response is that she's not going without her husband. That I can understand. However, why she didn't send her son when he was called up for national service is less clear. Yes he has sports and school, but he can find those again in another country.