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fiannah's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.0
bexlrose's review against another edition
3.0
2/13 Booker longlisters down. Finished reading The Colony by Audrey Magee. This one won't win. It's well written enough but honestly I found it a little meandering. A long walk on a grey day through a pretty park you've been to many times before.
3 stars.
3 stars.
jayseewhy's review
4.0
Set against the backdrop of violence in Ireland, The Colony paints a rich portrait of a family in flux as their language and way of life are tested.
I spent much of the book weighing up the perspective of the two outsiders, a linguist and an artist, but they each represented the island in ways that were coloured by their own upbringing and circumstance. Questions of belonging and identity have no simple answers at the point where cultures (Irish / English, old / new) start to meld.
Audrey Magee’s writing style kept me engaged throughout, giving insight in to many different characters. Her seamless switching between perspectives was a touch disorienting at first but helped the book flow in a grand way.
I spent much of the book weighing up the perspective of the two outsiders, a linguist and an artist, but they each represented the island in ways that were coloured by their own upbringing and circumstance. Questions of belonging and identity have no simple answers at the point where cultures (Irish / English, old / new) start to meld.
Audrey Magee’s writing style kept me engaged throughout, giving insight in to many different characters. Her seamless switching between perspectives was a touch disorienting at first but helped the book flow in a grand way.
thebobsphere's review
5.0
Spoiler heavy review
Audrey Magee's the Colony is a deceptively simple book. It starts off in an almost basic manner; an artist goes on a rowboat in order to stay in an island around Ireland for three months. Then Magee starts to drop little hints and these unfurl into major themes until the final product is quite a complex work.
The major theme of the book is colonisation via language. Lloyd is English and is not seen in a good light, especially when all the inhabitants of the island speaks Gaelic and he refuses to. Making matters more complicated, a Frenchman called JP Masson arrives and he exacerbates the rivalry between him and Lloyd, Masson is also believes that the English language should not be spoken on the island, incidentally he is also writing a dissertation on the development of Gaelic, which started out as a language everyone spoke then was regulated to the lower classes. As events tend to crossover, last week I attended a talk which was about language and colonisation and one of the guest speakers was from the Ukraine and she said that the Ukrainian was also seen as a peasant language due to Russian being forced on Ukrainians. To emphasis this further Masson has ties with Algeria , a place where Arabic was seen as secondary while French took over.
The other theme which ties into the first one is the troubles - there are interjections within the book which deal with people being killed by the IRA - this eventually links with the main plot of the novel of colonisation - once again, the Catholic/Protestant split has it's roots in language as well.
As this is a rich novel, there are other plot points that are discussed: Modernisation. the simplicity of life, marriage and human will. What is amazing is how deftly Audrey Magee puts it all together. The Colony may seem like an easy flowing read but it also is stuffed with thought provoking moments.
The book ends with one character deciding to leave the island and in order make a career as an artist. I guess this means the pull of colonisation is always going to be there.
Can I heap more praises on this book? I have felt that my paltry review has done it no justice. The Colony is one of those novels which just pick at your brain endlessly and makes the reader think of may theories and interpretations. As it is longlisted for this year's Booker Prize, I will be sorely disappointed if it doesn't win.
Audrey Magee's the Colony is a deceptively simple book. It starts off in an almost basic manner; an artist goes on a rowboat in order to stay in an island around Ireland for three months. Then Magee starts to drop little hints and these unfurl into major themes until the final product is quite a complex work.
The major theme of the book is colonisation via language. Lloyd is English and is not seen in a good light, especially when all the inhabitants of the island speaks Gaelic and he refuses to. Making matters more complicated, a Frenchman called JP Masson arrives and he exacerbates the rivalry between him and Lloyd, Masson is also believes that the English language should not be spoken on the island, incidentally he is also writing a dissertation on the development of Gaelic, which started out as a language everyone spoke then was regulated to the lower classes. As events tend to crossover, last week I attended a talk which was about language and colonisation and one of the guest speakers was from the Ukraine and she said that the Ukrainian was also seen as a peasant language due to Russian being forced on Ukrainians. To emphasis this further Masson has ties with Algeria , a place where Arabic was seen as secondary while French took over.
The other theme which ties into the first one is the troubles - there are interjections within the book which deal with people being killed by the IRA - this eventually links with the main plot of the novel of colonisation - once again, the Catholic/Protestant split has it's roots in language as well.
As this is a rich novel, there are other plot points that are discussed: Modernisation. the simplicity of life, marriage and human will. What is amazing is how deftly Audrey Magee puts it all together. The Colony may seem like an easy flowing read but it also is stuffed with thought provoking moments.
The book ends with one character deciding to leave the island and in order make a career as an artist. I guess this means the pull of colonisation is always going to be there.
Can I heap more praises on this book? I have felt that my paltry review has done it no justice. The Colony is one of those novels which just pick at your brain endlessly and makes the reader think of may theories and interpretations. As it is longlisted for this year's Booker Prize, I will be sorely disappointed if it doesn't win.
alisonmca's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
kennedien's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this story. Made me feel very uncomfortable at times.
wannasbooks's review against another edition
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
5.0
lu_ra_to's review against another edition
challenging
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
dinokadich's review against another edition
fast-paced
5.0
Started this on the beach, ended it while convalescing from the worst illness I’ve ever experienced (yet). Yay
Really beautifully written, not didactic but with a strong point of view that is elegantly represented through the figures in the novel, much as Lloyd does in his painting. So there is also an ambivalence to the representation. High recommend.
Really beautifully written, not didactic but with a strong point of view that is elegantly represented through the figures in the novel, much as Lloyd does in his painting. So there is also an ambivalence to the representation. High recommend.