Prophet Song, by Paul Lynch, 4 stars

[NancyJ]

This is a very powerful story about a country that is falling to a totalitarian regime, and on the verge of civil war. The writing is excellent and kept me riveted even when I wanted to stop. It is set in Ireland in the near future, and gives us the eerie feeling that if it can happen there, it could happen here. We see the entire story through the eyes of one family. The husband was a trade unionist, who was accused of sedition. He was only doing his job, protecting the worker’s rights that were guaranteed by the law of the country. (But the laws probably won’t be there for long .) He is detained by the secret police and disappears along with many others. The mother is panicking and unsure what to do. Her father and sister urge her to take the kids to her sister in Canada. It’s hard to get a passport because of her husband and she wants to stay. Other people start to leave but she stays.

She is not coping well, and it’s hard to remain calm and loving with her 4 kids and her father with dementia. I was constantly asking myself what I would do in each situation. I kept hoping she could be kinder to help them cope, but she was very strong and tireless when she needed to be. We see the effect that it has on the kids, especially when the 17 year old is drafted to fight for the state. They go through a great deal. By the end several of the family members are refugees trying to get out of the country. At this point the story is very similar to immigrant and refugee stories I’ve read over the past few years. They experience the same types of difficulties, threats, losses, and dangers faced by people fleeing Syria, South America, Sudan, and Ukraine in recent years.

The writing is particular strong and eloquent towards the end of the book, when he talks about the decision to leave your home. The most important message I got from the entire book was - if all hell is breaking out around you, leave before your house is blown up. (I noted similar lessons in WWII books when many Jewish families fled early, and others stayed behind. It only gets harder.

There are strong parallels to other countries throughout the world, and throughout history. I saw many similarities to books I read set in Syria, Afghanistan, South America, China, and of course WWII Germany, Russia, and Eastern block countries. The author omitted a large piece of the context of the story, in order to make the story more universal. We don’t know the driving forces that brought them to this point. Was it religion, a group like ISIS, an economic crisis, cultural divisions, a charismatic leader who divided them, a military dictator, communism? The ideology matters less than the tactics.

Leadership is a big part of the context, and I was disappointed that the characters never referred to leaders at all. It seemed impossible that the parents didn’t discuss people or groups in charge (before the secret police). They were both highly educated and the husband had a great deal of authority. This took me out of the story at times, and kept me from giving an extra star. It was also jarring that so many people disappeared early, before any notable resistance or conflict was present.

So now I’ve been daydreaming …
(view spoiler)[ What would I do if Civil War broke out here? How would I get to Canada if the bridges closed? Who do we know in Canada, and whose boat could get us there? Where could we cross by land? What warning signs would alert us that the bridges could close? What if the Fed or banks were taken over and we couldn’t get money? Could that ever happen? Is this why some people hoard cash? What do we need to know ahead of time to prepare? OMG, can you imagine me becoming a prepper?LOL (hide spoiler)]