4.75 stars ★★★★★

Haunting, harrowing and wynorffic.

Synopsis
Prophet song is a story of a woman named Eillish, a scientist and a mother of four, living in Ireland under an authoritarian regime. The regime has been in power for a few years and is imposing control in a life-altering way. Eillish’s life changes when one day her husband, Larry, is taken by GNSB (The Garda National Service Bureau), the regime’s secret police, for protesting against the government. She is left alone to fend for herself, her father with dementia, and her kids. But as the regime grows in power, the rebels grow in number too. The country descends into civil war and faces a terrible choice: to stay and fight, or to flee and survive.

The novel is written in a distinctive style, with no paragraph breaks, creating a sense of urgency and claustrophobia. The prose is very poetic and beautiful. The book is well-written and thought-provoking, with a clever use of metaphors and symbolism. I like the biblical reference of worms that pointed towards eternal hell, the dying and withering cherry tree highlighting the end, the white ribbons symbolizing hope. The character’s gesture of tying white ribbons to the cherry tree stops as the family loses hope and courage and succumbs to fear. It’s a subtle but powerful symbol in the story that foreshadows the upcoming events. It’s never mentioned, but it’s a poetic and crucial moment.

I also acknowledge the criticism that this book has received, as I am aware that there are people who are suffering and living in far worse conditions than the ones depicted in this book. My heart goes out to the people in Palestine who are witnessing the worst genocide this world has ever seen. But suffering is not a competition, and we should not dismiss those who are in less pain.

This book does a great job of arousing human emotions, which should lead to more empathy and positive action for what is going on in the world right now. I personally think this book does a good job of highlighting the possible difficulties of living under such dire circumstances for people who have had nothing but a privileged life.

I, who have never lived under an authoritarian government or war, are horrified and saddened by the gut-wrenching story of the Prophet song. It’s raw and heartbreaking.

The author chooses not to portray the cruelty in a realistic manner, because the actual extent of human brutality is far beyond what he depicts in the story. Nevertheless, some scenes are still unsettling and distressing to read. And In a way I am grateful that the author refrains from making the story excessively dark.

My wish is that this book helps whomever reads it to become a more compassionate and understanding person.

Humanity above all else.


"it is vanity to think the world will end during your lifetime in some sudden event, that what ends is your life and only your life, that what is sung by the prophets is but the same song sung across time, the coming of the sword, the world devoured by fire, the sun gone down into the earth at noon and the world cast in darkness, the fury of some god incarnate in the mouth of the prophet raging at the wickedness that will be cast out of sight, and the prophet sings not of the end of the world but of what has been done and what will be done and what is being done to some but not others, that the world is always ending over and over again in one place but not another and that the end of the world is always a local event, it comes to your country and visits your town and knocks on the door of your house and becomes to others but some distant warning, a brief report on the news, an echo of events that has passed into folklore."