The Booker Prize Winner 2023

Hello Gentle Reader,
 
This years Booker Prize winner is Paul Lynch with his novel “The Prophet Song,” which imagines Ireland falling to a state of authoritarianism, echoing a general malaise and concern of today, where both sides of the political spectrum are flirting dangerously with authoritarian methods. The left veering continuously to inflationary economic policies and enacting stagnate morally smug policies of positive prejudice and discrimination in order to ban and censor materials that otherwise contravene these policies of sugared righteousness, all of which is hate under the guise of tolerance; meanwhile the right has been spurred into a state of disenfranchised soullessness, now radicalised and reactionary with an appetite of scorched earth policies. The entre not only lost, but a mythical state. Paul Lynch’s imagined dystopia teeters precariously on the notion of prescience, as the recent string of riots and protests in Ireland regarding immigration and other ‘progressive,’ or ‘woke,’ causes which have become divisive issues.
 
The chair of this year’s judges, Esi Edugyan, made a point of clarification regarding Paul Lynch’s win, highlighting that the decision was not unanimous, and that the judges deliberated, debated and voted over six hours on Saturday to come to the comprise and conclusion of Paul Lynch being the winner. Despite the context of the book being politically charged and capturing what could otherwise be considered political concerns of the age, the novel Edugyan clarifies is for its timeless and masterful work of fiction. All of this being said, however, “The Prophet Song,” is the second politically concerned novel to receive the Booker Prize in a row, after last years “The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida,” by Shehan Karunatilaka. Does this mean the Booker Prize is heading towards establishing political allegiances or promoting social or ideological concerns? Not necessarily. The lists are carved out by the discussions and reading tastes and concerns of the panel for the year, based off of the books nominated.
 
Congratulations are in order for Paul Lynch for this years Booker Prize win.

Thank you for Reading Gentle Reader
Take Care
And As Always
Stay Well Read

M. Mary