Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Prophet Song by Paul Lynch

8 reviews

timmytunter's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Prophet Song is an unflinching and emotionally brutal portrayal of a nation spiralling into war. Paul Lynch’s novel grips the reader with its intensity, pulling you into the heart of a society on the brink of collapse. 

What stands out most is Lynch’s exceptional prose. His unconventional descriptions of everyday moments breathe life into the narrative in ways that are unexpected yet striking.

For instance, when describing a simple exchange, Lynch writes:

She finds herself watching the face so intensely she is met with the feeling of an existence unalterably separate from hers, can feel her smile uncoupling from her face, the smile sliding past her jaw onto the floor.

Or this vivid depiction of a tender yet tragic moment:

What has been stored in the body, what has been locked in the heart gives release through Molly’s mouth into sobbing…We have entered into a tunnel and there is no going back, she says, we just need to keep going and going until we reach the light on the other side.

Lynch’s writing is both beautiful and harrowing, capturing the emotional toll of life under siege. The novel’s intensity weighs heavily, and while I found it incredibly powerful, I have no desire to read it again—not because it’s a bad book, but because of its emotional heft. The experience was profound, but draining.

That said, Prophet Song is a novel everyone should read at least once. It exposes the jarring and tragic realities of life in a war-torn country in a way that will leave you both shaken and reflective. The devastating truth is that this depiction accurately reflects the reality for many in our world today, a fact which is cause for pause, reflection, and action. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and War

Moderate: Torture and Dementia

aseel_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

I think the idea of the story was interesting but I hate this style of execution and it was really hard to concentrate on the story. Some plot events had me super engaged

um bailey dying?? Wtf

but like it took me so long to remember the names of the kids and I felt like the mum could have been more proactive, especially in the second half 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gun violence, Torture, Medical content, Dementia, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, and Sexual harassment

nialiversuch's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Grief, Abandonment, and War

Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Dementia, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Eating disorder and Vomit

edward_eb's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I was really gripped by this book. Very pertinent to the terrible events happening all over the world today. And at its heart a book about family and love and the things people will do to keep what feels most familiar and safe, sometimes at a deadly cost. At points it was almost too sad and frustrating but absolutely worth the read and well crafted. It lends itself to audiobook very well too. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Torture, Police brutality, Dementia, and War

Minor: Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Murder

stormfather's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Very slow opening but a strong message with talented writing and a solid finish.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Cursing, Death, and Grief

ronanmcd's review against another edition

challenging dark sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Hans Fallada's Alone in Dublin
It's almost too much to read. It's affecting my sleep. It's affecting how I'm looking at my surroundings. 
I never take stock of prizes, but it's easy to see how this has been winning awards. You are in it. It's inescapable.
It's set in local places, Mount Temple, Joey's school, the promenade in Clontarf. And nothing happens for stretches, but real fear simmers. That's what makes it so powerful. It's believable. It captures so well the boiling frog metaphor. Changes come in and are accepted, however begrudgingly, until it's too late and everything has changed. It's not hard to see this happening around us, particularly as the Overton window has been shunted aside.
There are moments of clarity throughout, that leap from the text. Simon, Eilish's deteriorating father, points out none of this is new. There has always been a wing that will deny truth and facts, until they are irrelevant and unverifiable. Until you believe their lies, but even then truth comes back, as facts cannot be overruled.
And later Eilish's son, Mark, says fear attracts exactly what it is most afraid of.

But then...

The book changes when war comes. It becomes a story of a claustrophobic war in a small country. I read this as Israel bombarded Gaza, going far beyond a response to rocket attacks. And with politicians and members of the press cashing for Gaza's obliteration.  ll the while politicians in Ireland acquiesce to the far right and discuss the "immigration question'
We see what brings this migration about, what it's really like to be forced to leave your own place, why we do it, why we try not to. The book's aims are huge.
But it is exceedingly grim.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Dementia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

kiwichill's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Dementia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Misogyny, Excrement, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Pandemic/Epidemic

esalan's review

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Dementia, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Alcohol

Minor: Rape