Paul Lynch's 'Prophet Song' Wins the 2023 Booker Prize

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Update: Paul Lynch's Prophet Song won the 2023 Booker Prize."We all ultimately felt that this was the book that we wanted to present to the world and that this was truly a masterful work of fiction," Esi Edugyan, the chair of the judging panel said, adding the novel is a "triumph of emotional storytelling, bracing and brave." Below, the original story on the books that were selected for the longlist and the shortlist.

The longlist (and the shortlist!) for the 2023 Booker Prize is here!

Novelist Esi Edugyan chaired the judging panel; she was joined by Bridgerton actress Adjoa Andoh; poet, lecturer, editor and critic Mary Jean Chan; Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University and Shakespeare specialist James Shapiro; and actor Robert Webb. They read over 160 novels over the past seven months to create this longlist of titles.

"The list is defined by its freshness – by the irreverence of new voices, by the iconoclasm of established ones," Edugyan said in a statement about the longlist. "All 13 novels cast new light on what it means to exist in our time, and they do so in original and thrilling ways. Their range is vast, both in subject and form: they shocked us, made us laugh, filled us with anguish, but above all they stayed with us. This is a list to excite, challenge, delight, a list to bring wonder."

Today, the shortlist came out. Per the Booker Prize, "None of the six authors has previously been shortlisted for the prize. There are two debuts on the shortlist; there is one British, one Canadian, two Irish and two American authors. Although full of hope, humour and humanity, the books address many of 2023’s most pressing concerns: climate change, immigration, financial hardship, the persecution of minorities, political extremism and the erosion of personal freedoms. They feature characters in search of peace and belonging or lamenting lost loves. There are books that are grounded in modern reality, that shed light on shameful episodes in history and which imagine a terrifying future."

The Booker Prize awards books published in the UK and Ireland and written in English. Earlier this year, Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov (translated by Angela Rodel) won the 2023 International Booker Prize. Gospodinov became the first Bulgarian author to take home the award. The winner will be announced in late November. Alphabetical by author's last name, here's the longlist (the books on the shortlist are noted):

A Spell of Good Things: A novel

Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀'s novel is set in mdoern Nigeria and centers around the intertwining fates of two families—one wealthy, one poor. The judges write, "A Spell of Good Things is an examination of class and desire in modern-day Nigeria. While Eniola’s poverty prevents him from getting the education he desperately wants, Wuraola finds that wealth is no barrier against life’s harsher realities. A powerful, staggering read."

Old God's Time: A Novel

Retired policeman Tom Kettle is settling into his new home on the Irish seaside when two former colleagues turn up with questions about an old case. "Barry brilliantly evokes the distorting effect of trauma on memory as we enter an easy companionship with his gentle, funny protagonist," the judges write. "Both the legacy of historic child abuse in Ireland and the enduring power of love are sensitively explored in this compassionate and quietly furious book."

Study for Obedience: A novel

A young woman moves to a "remote northern country" to be her brother's housekeeper, but after she arrives, unfortunate events begin to happen and suspicion is placed on her. Study for Obedience, the judges write, is "an absurdist, darkly funny novel about the rise of xenophobia, as seen through the eyes of a stranger in an unnamed town – or is it? Bernstein’s urgent, crystalline prose upsets all our expectations, and what transpires is a meditation on survival itself."

On the 2023 Booker Prize shortlist

If I Survive You

Jonathan Escoffery's debut short story collection follows a Jamaican family in Miami. "An astonishingly assured debut novel, lauded by the panel for its clarity, variety and fizzing prose. As the stories move back and forth through geography and time, we are confronted by the immigrants’ eternal questions: who am I now and where do I belong?" the judges write of If I Survive You.

On the 2023 Booker Prize shortlist

How to Build a Boat

We'll just let the judges take this one: "The interweaving stories of Jamie, a teenage boy trying to make sense of the world, and Tess, a teacher at his school, make up this humorous and insightful novel about family and the need for connection. Feeney has written an absorbing coming-of-age story which also explores the restrictions of class and education in a small community. A complex and genuinely moving novel."

This Other Eden: A Novel

Paul Harding's novel is based on the true story of Malaga Island, an island off the coast of Maine that was one of the first racially integrated towns in the Northeast. "Based on a relatively unknown true story, Paul Harding’s heartbreakingly beautiful novel transports us to a unique island community scrabbling a living," the judges explain. "The panel were moved by the delicate symphony of language, land and narrative that Harding brings to bear on the story of the islanders."

On the 2023 Booker Prize shortlist

Pearl

Siân Hughes's debut novel is set in a small village in Cheshire, where she grew up, and inspired by a medieval poem. The story follows Marianne, whose mother disappears when she is just 8 years old. The judges that write Pearl is "an exceptional debut novel," one that is "both a mystery story and a meditation on grief, abandonment and consolation, evoking the profundities of the haunting medieval poem. The degree of difficulty in writing a book of this sort – at once quiet and hugely ambitious – is very high. It’s a book that will be passed from hand to hand for a long time to come."

All the Little Bird-Hearts

All the Little Bird-Hearts is narrated by an autistic mom, Sunday, who lives with her 16-year-old daughter, Dolly. The judges call it "a poetic debut which masterfully intertwines themes of familial love, friendship, class, prejudice and trauma with psychological acuity and wit."

Prophet Song

In Prophet Song, Eilish Stack's husband is taken for interrogation by Ireland's secret police. After he vanishes, she must decide how far she's willing to go to save her family. The judges write, "Paul Lynch’s harrowing and dystopian Prophet Song vividly renders a mother’s determination to protect her family as Ireland’s liberal democracy slides inexorably and terrifyingly into totalitarianism. Readers will find it timely and unforgettable. It’s a remarkable accomplishment for a novelist to capture the social and political anxieties of our moment so compellingly."

On the 2023 Booker Prize shortlist

In Ascension

The only science fiction book on the longlist, In Ascension tells the tale of a vent that appears in the Atlantic Ocean. Leigh, who grew up in Rotterdam, joins the research team and embarks on a journey through the deep sea. "In this strange and wonderful world, every outward journey – whether to space or the depths of the ocean – is an inward one, as Leigh seeks to move beyond her troubled childhood. In Ascension is a Solaris for the climate-change age."

Western Lane: A Novel

Gopi, 11, has been playing squash her entire life. After her mom dies, she gets further sucked into the competitive world. "Skilfully deploying the sport of squash as both context and metaphor, Western Lane is a deeply evocative debut about a family grappling with grief, conveyed through crystalline language which reverberates like the sound 'of a ball hit clean and hard…with a close echo,'" the judges write.

On the 2023 Booker Prize shortlist

The Bee Sting: A Novel

One of Town & Country's most anticipated books for August 2023, The Bee Sting is about a family experiencing some very bad luck. Where did it all go wrong for them? Murray's novel, the judges write, "brilliantly explores how our secrets and self-deceptions ultimately catch up with us. This family drama, told from multiple perspectives, is at once hilarious and heartbreaking, personal and epic. It’s an addictive read."

On the 2023 Booker Prize shortlist

The House of Doors

Based on real events, Tan Twang Eng's novel tells the story of writer Willie Somerset Maugham in Penang, Malaysia, and of his friendship with society hostess Lesley. "The House of Doors is a magisterial and haunting tale of forbidden love and loss in the shadow of revolution and empire. This is historical fiction at its finest," the judges write.

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