David's Reviews > The Colony

There is a quiet beauty to The Colony. Audrey Magee's latest novel is set in 1979 on an unnamed island off Ireland's Atlantic coast where traditional life and language are receding to extinction. With the Troubles at a boiling point on the mainland, the islanders host two summer visitors - one a painter from England, the other a linguist from France. As the title indicates, Magee situates the Troubles within the framework of colonialism and post-colonialism. That framework is gradually revealed as the novel unfolds. Magee's touch is light, letting the reader form their own conclusions about the encroaching violence. What truly elevates The Colony is Magee's magnificent prose and flowing narrative voice, with points of view often shifting within the same sentence or paragraph. The boundary between thought and speech is also permeable, particularly as most characters are multilingual. The form is quietly innovative yet unobtrusive. The characters are nuanced and beautifully drawn. There are many layers to this gorgeous work.