Why did Mark love this book?
For its razor-sharp evocation of land and sea. For its trenchant insights into Irish history. For its elliptical style. But most of all, for its characters.
Magee sets her novel on a small island off Ireland’s west coast in 1979 when the Troubles were at their height in Northern Ireland. The dynamic running through the narrative involves a bitter dispute between two self-important visitors: an English painter and a French academic.
But the islanders themselves provide the emotional heart of the book, especially a teenage boy named James, who is patronized by one of the visitors and betrayed by the other.
When I remember The Colony now, I think first and foremost of that lonely, vulnerable boy.
2 authors picked The Colony as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
SHORTLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE
LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2022
'Vivid and memorable.' SARAH MOSS
'Luminous.' Observer
'I utterly ADORED it.' MARIAN KEYES
He handed the easel to the boatman, reaching down the pier wall towards the sea.
Mr Lloyd has decided to travel to the island by boat without engine - the authentic experience.
Unbeknownst to him, Mr Masson will also soon be arriving for the summer. Both will strive to encapsulate the truth of this place - one in his paintings, the other by capturing its speech, the language he hopes to preserve.
But the people who…