Prophet song - book review

 "Prophet song" -  my impressions

          This is certainly one of the books that was very disturbing and made me realise that how much relatively peaceful and comfortable atmosphere we are living in India. The story of the book is set in a totally imaginary period of time in the country Ireland where it is not clear which of the political formations fight for power. What are the idealogies, left or right, religious or irreligious, etc. are not mentioned. Booker was awarded to this book last year. On what basis? I think the reason for giving the Booker prize must be the political relevance of the content. More so, these days people do not seem to understand enough of the importance of civil rights of individuals in societies. This book really brings that to the forefront and descrbes the struggle of a family during the time of suspension of all civic rights in the country.

         So essentially the novel takes us through the journey of a urban, well settled family who live happily in Ierland. What happens to the family after head of the family who is trade unionist goes into the custody of government agency due to political turbulence in Ierland. Some people compare this book to that of another classical work “1984” by Geroge orwell. But the difference is, I think, at many points while reading this book, emotional attachment of the reader to the characters is more than that of Orwell” s book. None can escape the personal grief or extreme sadness while going through certain portions. The book is not recommended for the light hearted. Some may feel so grief stricken that the plight of the protagonist will haunt them for long.

         What is the takeaway from the book? In my opinion the book stresses on the importance of free society in which the institutions of the state are to be accountable to the people. In India too, the fear of losing fundamental rights of citizens is looming large presently with the rise in power of the ruling dispensation which perceivably do not believe in any democratic principles per se. The book certainly deserves to be considered at par with all time great dystopian works like Orwell's 1984, Aldous Huxley's Brave new world, etc. A must read for all those who are politically inclined.