The Colony by Audrey Magee

The Colony by Audrey Magee

LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE

"Luminous." --Jonathan Myerson, The Guardian
"Vivid, thought-provoking." --Malcolm Forbes, Star Tribune

In 1979, as violence erupts all over Ireland, two outsiders travel to a small island off the west coast in search of their own answers, despite what it may cost the islanders.

It is the summer of 1979. An English painter travels to a small island off the west coast of Ireland. Mr. Lloyd takes the last leg by currach, though boats with engines are available and he doesn't much like the sea. He wants the authentic experience, to be changed by this place, to let its quiet and light fill him, give him room to create. He doesn't know that a Frenchman follows close behind. Jean-Pierre Masson has visited the island for many years, studying the language of those who make it their home. He is fiercely protective of their isolation, deems it essential to exploring his theories of language preservation and identity.

But the people who live on this rock--three miles long and half a mile wide--have their own views on what is being recorded, what is being taken, and what ought to be given in return. Over the summer, each of them--from great-grandmother Bean Uí Fhloinn, to widowed Mairéad, to fifteen-year-old James, who is determined to avoid the life of a fisherman--will wrestle with their values and desires. Meanwhile, all over Ireland, violence is erupting. And there is blame enough to go around.

An expertly woven portrait of character and place, a stirring investigation into yearning to find one's way, and an unflinchingly political critique of the long, seething cost of imperialism, Audrey Magee's The Colony is a novel that transports, that celebrates beauty and connection, and that reckons with the inevitable ruptures of independence.

Magee, Audrey: - Audrey Magee worked for twelve years as a journalist and has written for, among others, the Times, the Irish Times, and the Guardian. She studied German and French at University College Dublin and journalism at Dublin City University. She lives in Wicklow with her husband and three daughters. The Undertaking is her first novel.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780374606527
ISBN 10	0374606528
Title	The Colony
Author	Audrey Magee
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Year published	2022-05-17
Number of pages	384
Prizes	Short-listed for Man Booker Prize (Novel) 2022
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.