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Irish writer Paul Lynch has won Britain’s Booker Prize for fiction with his dystopian novel “Prophet Song”, a work described by judges as “soul-shattering”.

It’s a tale about a woman’s struggle to protect her family as Ireland collapses into totalitarianism and war.

Canadian writer Esi Edugyan, who chaired the judging panel, said the book is “a triumph of emotional storytelling, bracing and brave” in which Lynch “pulls off feats of language that are stunning to witness.”

Lynch, 46, had been the bookies’ favorite to win the prestigious prize, worth €50,000, which usually brings a big boost in sales. His book beat five other finalists from Ireland, the UK, US and Canada, chosen from 163 novels submitted by publishers.

“This was not an easy book to write,” Lynch said after being handed the Booker trophy. “The rational part of me believed I was dooming my career by writing this novel, though I had to write the book anyway. We do not have a choice in such matters.”

Lynch has called “Prophet Song,” his fifth novel, an attempt at “radical empathy” that tries to plunge readers into the experience of living in a collapsing society.

The other finalists were Irish writer Paul Murray’s “The Bee Sting”; American novelist Paul Harding’s “This Other Eden”; Canadian author Sarah Bernstein’s “Study for Obedience”; US writer Jonathan Escoffery’s “If I Survive You”; and British author Chetna Maroo’s “Western Lane.”

Founded in 1969, the Booker Prize is open to English-language novels from any country published in the UK and Ireland, and has a reputation for transforming writers’ careers. Previous winners include Ian McEwan, Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie and Hilary Mantel.