The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
bella_cavicchi's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I loved this in a way I wasn't expecting, perhaps because the story itself wasn't what I expecting. Understated in its approach, it tells a powerful story of colonisation and heritage and alliance against the backdrop of the Troubles. My friends can attest that I was gasping by the last few pages, unprepared for the wreckage of a simple action.
Perhaps best summed up as a book that has kept me thinking over a week since I've finished it. A good sign!
Perhaps best summed up as a book that has kept me thinking over a week since I've finished it. A good sign!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Gun violence, Death of parent, War, Violence, Grief, Death, Colonisation, and Child death
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Sexism
mmccombs's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
sad
medium-paced
5.0
A kick to the chest of a novel! Its slow, atmospheric build works to create a fraught, claustrophobic ending, revealing so much about colonization and theft and violence that lives on through generations, a cycle that never ends. This book is so multilayered without being cumbersome or overwrought, the writing is striking and expertly crafted. Simply the perfect book, I’ll be thinking about it for a long time!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, War, Colonisation, Death, and Violence
leabharlady's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Grief, War, Abandonment, Colonisation, Violence, Sexual harassment, Cultural appropriation, and Death
deedireads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
All my reviews live at https://deedispeaking.com/reads/.
TL;DR REVIEW:
The Colony is a quietly devastating, gorgeously written book about colonization and agency set on a small Irish island during the Troubles. It has lots of layers!
For you if: You like character-driven novels, plus prose that’s poetic and a bit nontraditional.
FULL REVIEW:
After a fair amount of pre-release hype, The Colony was longlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize. Having read it, I can confirm that this 100% feels like a Booker book (in a good way), and that it’s going to make for an excellent book club discussion.
The story is set on a small island off Ireland’s coast in 1979, as the Troubles raged on the mainland. The island has been somewhat sheltered from colonization, with its people still living according to their longstanding customs and speaking a traditional form of Irish. But that’s slowly changing. During this summer, two white men come to stay: an English painter named Lloyd, determined to make a name for himself painting the landscape and, eventually, its people; and a French linguist named Masson, determined to make a name for himself as the savior of their language. Throughout, we get short vignettes depicting terrible acts of violence on the mainland.
Although the plot itself is relatively quiet — simmering backdrop of violence notwithstanding — this book does and says a ton as it pertains to not only colonization and saviorism, but also agency (whose choice is it whether people need saving?). I’m particularly excited to discuss the linguist, Masson, with my book club. Without saying too much, he’s the child of a colonizer and a member of a colonized people, making his actions and motivations really fascinating.
But perhaps the most distinctive part about this book is the prose. It’s beautiful, poetic, and a little nontraditional. Magee’s decision to write this way and also not use quotation marks — especially with so many characters being bilingual — blends thought and dialogue in a way that’s effective and affecting but somehow never confusing.
I will say that I guessed how this was going to end (hoping I was wrong), but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment. Magee’s purpose here is equal parts clear and moving, and I enjoyed it quite a bit.
TL;DR REVIEW:
The Colony is a quietly devastating, gorgeously written book about colonization and agency set on a small Irish island during the Troubles. It has lots of layers!
For you if: You like character-driven novels, plus prose that’s poetic and a bit nontraditional.
FULL REVIEW:
After a fair amount of pre-release hype, The Colony was longlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize. Having read it, I can confirm that this 100% feels like a Booker book (in a good way), and that it’s going to make for an excellent book club discussion.
The story is set on a small island off Ireland’s coast in 1979, as the Troubles raged on the mainland. The island has been somewhat sheltered from colonization, with its people still living according to their longstanding customs and speaking a traditional form of Irish. But that’s slowly changing. During this summer, two white men come to stay: an English painter named Lloyd, determined to make a name for himself painting the landscape and, eventually, its people; and a French linguist named Masson, determined to make a name for himself as the savior of their language. Throughout, we get short vignettes depicting terrible acts of violence on the mainland.
Although the plot itself is relatively quiet — simmering backdrop of violence notwithstanding — this book does and says a ton as it pertains to not only colonization and saviorism, but also agency (whose choice is it whether people need saving?). I’m particularly excited to discuss the linguist, Masson, with my book club. Without saying too much, he’s the child of a colonizer and a member of a colonized people, making his actions and motivations really fascinating.
But perhaps the most distinctive part about this book is the prose. It’s beautiful, poetic, and a little nontraditional. Magee’s decision to write this way and also not use quotation marks — especially with so many characters being bilingual — blends thought and dialogue in a way that’s effective and affecting but somehow never confusing.
I will say that I guessed how this was going to end (hoping I was wrong), but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment. Magee’s purpose here is equal parts clear and moving, and I enjoyed it quite a bit.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Domestic abuse
zotty's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Colonisation, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Violence, and Animal death
retswerb's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Reads like a literary classic. Rare that I find a book I like so much in which I also dislike the main characters, but the writing here is just that good. Magee weaves together a variety of viewpoints into a compelling snapshot of a time and a place. Absolutely fantastic reading in the audiobook.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Murder
dwager's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
The Colony is set in Ireland during the Troubles, and the action of the characters is interspersed with news reports of bombings and shootings in Northern Ireland. All the characters also have their own personal troubles, which are explored and form the basis for the interpersonal conflicts (of which there are a lot) and relationships. The effects that art and linguistic research can have on the people involved, both the purveyors of those fields and the subjects, is also a main theme. This book is ambitious in its scope, and I think successful in discussing the issues.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Violence, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Colonisation, Hate crime, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Mass/school shootings
oliviashleigh's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation
Moderate: Animal death, Xenophobia, Cultural appropriation, Domestic abuse, Violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Grief, and War
katewhite77's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A Wonderfully lyrical Novel.
A beautiful meditation on colony and colonisation and mainly. but not exclusively the geopolitical Anglo-Irish iteration with a particular focus on language.Â
I would recommend the audio version of this particular book as I think this book is probably best heard than read if possible just let the words carry you across the Irish Sea.Â
This is not an easy read but an important and poetic one.
A beautiful meditation on colony and colonisation and mainly. but not exclusively the geopolitical Anglo-Irish iteration with a particular focus on language.Â
I would recommend the audio version of this particular book as I think this book is probably best heard than read if possible just let the words carry you across the Irish Sea.Â
This is not an easy read but an important and poetic one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, War, Violence, Cultural appropriation, Classism, Colonisation, and Murder
wordsaremything's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
How long does a bone last, anyway? A skull? Shorter or longer than a jumper?
I will start by saying I don't know much about the violent skirmishes in Ireland in the 1970s other than "they happened," so the vignettes after each chapter on the island confused me for a little while. It wasn't until Lloyd mentions the 1970s at one point that I figured it out. I'll start with the last one, because I thought about it a good deal after I closed the book: I think this final vignette is supposed to be James, in a way.The man turns on the light (that's James, trying to be an artist) but quickly turns it off because he doesn't want to be seen (that's James, keeping his anger quiet about Lloyd stealing his ideas). The man tries to return to his evening (James, wanting to leave the island) but he is killed instead (James, being left behind by Lloyd).
I found the storytelling in this fascinating. Magee's usage of run-on sentences that switch from third to first person, as well as her interspersing of poetry mid-sentence for Lloyd, made for an interesting reading experience.
I was most interested in Mairéad and the motivations behind her actions, though James/Séamus was a close second, and I enjoyed reading about him the most. Lloyd and Masson/JP were two sides of the same coin — both are outsiders who have come to the island for themselves, only Masson thinks he's doing them a kindness.
I feel like I've only understood half of this, like I needed to have read it with a book club to get everything out of it. A compelling read — I read it very quickly and found myself tense for what would happen next.
There's a colony beneath your feet, Mr Lloyd. Moving underneath without your even knowing.
I will start by saying I don't know much about the violent skirmishes in Ireland in the 1970s other than "they happened," so the vignettes after each chapter on the island confused me for a little while. It wasn't until Lloyd mentions the 1970s at one point that I figured it out. I'll start with the last one, because I thought about it a good deal after I closed the book: I think this final vignette is supposed to be James, in a way.
I found the storytelling in this fascinating. Magee's usage of run-on sentences that switch from third to first person, as well as her interspersing of poetry mid-sentence for Lloyd, made for an interesting reading experience.
I was most interested in Mairéad and the motivations behind her actions, though James/Séamus was a close second, and I enjoyed reading about him the most. Lloyd and Masson/JP were two sides of the same coin — both are outsiders who have come to the island for themselves, only Masson thinks he's doing them a kindness.
I feel like I've only understood half of this, like I needed to have read it with a book club to get everything out of it. A compelling read — I read it very quickly and found myself tense for what would happen next.
There's a colony beneath your feet, Mr Lloyd. Moving underneath without your even knowing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Colonisation, War, and Xenophobia
Minor: Vomit
Graphic vignettes of deaths/murders caused by the skirmishes with the IRA in the 1970s.