Der Booker Prize geht in diesem Jahr an den irischen Autor Paul Lynch für seinen Roman Prophet Song.
Es ist der fünfte Roman von Paul Lynch, der schon mit Autoren wie Cormac McCarthy, Seamus Heaney und Samuel Beckett verglichen wurde. Der Roman handelt von einer Familie, die auf erschreckende Weise in die Mühlen der Justiz gerät.
Die Begründung der Jury:

„From that first knock at the door, Prophet Song forces us out of our complacency as we follow the terrifying plight of a woman seeking to protect her family in an Ireland descending into totalitarianism. We felt unsettled from the start, submerged in – and haunted by – the sustained claustrophobia of Lynch’s powerfully constructed world. He flinches from nothing, depicting the reality of state violence and displacement and offering no easy consolations. […] This is a triumph of emotional storytelling, bracing and brave. With great vividness, Prophet Song captures the social and political anxieties of our current moment. Readers will find it soul-shattering and true, and will not soon forget its warnings.“