Prophet Song by Paul Lynch is a piece of contemporary dystopian fiction. Winner of the prestigious Booker Prize (2023), Prophet Song centers on a family’s fight for survival after Ireland descends into totalitarian control and a civil war. The novel explores the power of the family unit in the face of crisis, the tyranny of society under authoritarian rule, and the human instinct for survival.

Paul Lynch is an Irish novelist. He is the author of four other novels: Red Sky in Morning (2013), The Black Snow (2014), Grace (2017), and Beyond the Sea (2019). Lynch is notable in contemporary literature for his poetic literary style.

This Study Guide is based on the Oneworld edition published in 2023.

Content Warning: The source text and this study guide discuss police brutality, torture, and violence, including the murders of children.

Plot Summary

Eilish Stack is an ordinary Irish woman. She lives in Dublin with her husband, Larry, and her children Mark (16), Molly (14), Bailey (12), and Ben (an infant). Eilish works as a biologist, and Larry is a representative of Ireland’s teacher’s union. Their lives are torn apart when new political changes shift the culture of Ireland. The government passes an Emergency Powers Act, which grants the government and security forces full authority over the law. This effectively suspends the constitution and empowers secret police organizations to arrest and detain people without trial or official charges. As a union leader, Larry is at the top of the list of suspects for this new, charged government. Because he advocates for teachers’ rights, the government sees him as an enemy. Larry is arrested at a peaceful protest. Eilish never sees him again.

At first, Eilish tries to maintain a sense of normalcy for her family. As news disseminates that all over the country, people like Larry are disappearing, citizens like Eilish are confused about what to do. It seems impossible that their once just and fair legal system could be completely overturned. Tension in Dublin escalates when four boys are arrested at school for using graffiti to protest the government’s new regime. Two of the boys are tortured and killed. Mass demonstrations advocating for the boys reveal that many people are anti-regime, but protests are violently quashed, and people face mass arrests and strict curfews. Eilish worries for her children’s safety.

Eilish has a sister named Áine who lives in Canada. When Eilish applies for a passport for Ben so that the family can travel to Canada, she is denied because of her husband’s arrest.

Mark is sent a summons to report to mandatory military duty after his 17th birthday, even though he is still in school. Appalled, Eilish comes up with a plan to save Mark. She arranges for a friend named Carole to smuggle Mark across the border into Northern Ireland, but Mark is rebellious and inspired to fight against the regime. He runs away to join the rebel army.

Eilish struggles to maintain harmony in her household. Molly develops depression, and Bailey becomes angry. Eilish is fired from her job by her pro-regime boss when the regime publishes Mark’s name and address in the newspaper, labeling him a traitor. Eilish’s house and car are vandalized, too. Meanwhile, Eilish’s father Simon quickly develops dementia. He is forgetful and often frustrated when Eilish reminds him of the facts. She worries about his well-being, but he refuses to move in with her.

Eilish is approached by a woman named Maeve who works for an underground organization that smuggles people out of Ireland. Áine has paid Maeve to arrange an escape for Eilish and her children, including false passports. Eilish refuses the offer because she is determined to wait for Larry and Mark to return.

The rebel army fights all over Ireland, and war comes to Dublin. Air raids destroy entire parts of the city, but Eilish’s neighborhood is momentarily freed by the rebels. Eilish can’t get in touch with Simon and discovers that Maeve has successfully smuggled Simon to safety.

The rebels’ victory is tentative, and their control over the neighborhood is just as oppressive as the regime’s. War continues, and a bomb is dropped in the neighborhood. Bailey is injured in the blast and requires surgery. Many hospitals have been destroyed in the war, but Eilish finally finds a hospital that admits Bailey for surgery. The next day, Eilish braves snipers to cross the bridge to the hospital only to be told that Bailey has been moved to a military hospital. The military hospital has no record of Bailey’s admittance. Eilish finds Bailey in the morgue. He has been tortured and murdered, just after his 13th birthday.

Eilish, Molly, and Ben make their way to the border. They take buses, vans, and sometimes walk. The journey to the border with Northern Ireland is strenuous and chaotic. Thousands of people are trying to flee Ireland, and corrupt checkpoints on the way to the border take money and dignity away from the refugees. When Eilish finally makes it to the border, a border agent implies that sexual access to Molly will grant them their crossing. Eilish shames the man and pays her way across the border with her children. Eilish cuts Molly’s hair to protect her against lecherous men who take advantage of refugees’ vulnerability.

In Northern Ireland, the remaining Stacks are driven to an abandoned warehouse. Dozens of people stay in this warehouse for days, braving the cold and the lack of utilities and food. Finally, Eilish and her children are brought to the sea, where boats are waiting to sail them away. Molly grows afraid of the uncertainty of the dangerous voyage, but Eilish has a renewed sense of hope for the future. She is determined to cross the sea and find a new life and future for her children. If she can’t believe in a future for her children, then she has truly given in to the abuse and fear of fascism.

Prophet Song ends with Eilish bringing her children closer to her, resolved to pursue the sea.