AN IRISH TIMES BEST IRISH BOOK OF THE 21ST CENTURY
SHORTLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE
SHORTLISTED FOR THE KERRY GROUP IRISH NOVEL OF THE YEAR AWARD
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 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 is given in return. Soft summer days pass, and the islanders are forced to question what they value and what they desire. As the autumn beckons, and the visitors head home, there will be a reckoning.
‘‘Beautifully written.’ STELLA, The Telegraph
‘The Colony contains multitudes. . . with much of it just visible on the surface, like the flicker of a smile or a shark in the water.’ The Times
‘The Colony is a novel about big, important things.’ Financial Times
