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The philosopher Hannah Arendt’s much-quoted description of the “banality of evil” could be applied to the disquieting story told in Prophet Song by Paul Lynch. The Booker prize-winning novel is a perfect study of the banality of totalitarianism.

Six books, three authors called Paul, one £50,000 prize. In the end, Paul Lynch has taken the spoils for his dystopian tale of a totalitarian Ireland – but it doesn’t feel like a winner that will stand the test of time, writes our chief book critic Martin Chilton

The Irish author’s novel set in an imagined Dublin descending into far-right tyranny wins £50,000 prize

This year’s Booker prize shortlist is an exciting line up, melding established, prize-winning authors and debut writers. The 2023 shortlist contains two Irish authors – Paul Murray and Paul Lynch – and on the long list of 13 novels, Elaine Feeney’s How to Build a Boat and Sebastian Barry’s Old…