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The Colony

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The Colony

By: Audrey Magee
Narrated by: Stephen Hogan
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About this listen

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 with his faithful rendition of its speech, the language he hopes to preserve.

But the people who live here on this rock - three miles wide and half-a-mile long - have their own views on what is being recorded, what is being taken and what is given in return. Over the summer each of the women and men in the household this French and Englishman join is forced to question what they value and what they desire. At the end of the summer, as the visitors head home, there will be a reckoning.

'The Colony is a vivid and memorable book about art, land and language, love and sex, youth and age. Big ideas tread lightly through Audrey Magee's strong prose.' Sarah Moss

The Colony is brimming with ideas about identity and soul; a canny, challenging, and never less than engrossing read.' Lisa McInerney

©2022 Audrey Magee (P)2022 Faber & Faber Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Sea Adventures Adventure

Critic Reviews

"The Colony is a vivid and memorable book about art, land and language, love and sex, youth and age. Big ideas tread lightly through Audrey Magee’s strong prose." (Sarah Moss)

"The Colony is brimming with ideas about identity and soul; a canny, challenging, and never less than engrossing read." (Lisa McInerney)
All stars
Most relevant  
Language is a theme highlighted by the skilled reading. I suspect as an Aussie-English speaker I would not have appreciated the nuances as much if i had encountered this work on the page. So audio was the right choice for me. Threads of dominance and submission, exploitation, and the continuing impact of history weave through it. I was desperately hoping for a "happy ever after" ending but fearing it would be a "catastrophe". What it was was magnificent.

Deep and rich. "Grand" for me as an audio book

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Interesting original. It took me a few chapters to settle into, it was however thoroughly worth it. There are some likeable and some not so likeable characters in the story. A story of expectation, yearning and realising limitations. I highly recommended this Audible offering.

Great listening

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Beautifully written and read, this novel is a deeply moving story of colonisation, exploitation and betrayal.

Brilliant

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At times it was easy to see where the plot was going, but a very enjoyable read all the same.

Oddly compelling

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Books like this teach us so much… about Irish, about how people lived off the land before money changed our aspirations, about how stuff can be simple and might have to be simple again some day when the earth can only sustain simple lives without conspicuous consumption etc.

Excellent. A good balance between story and history.

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Beautiful prose evokes passionate feelings but tragedy lurks in the mind like the ominous features of the landscape portrayed….

The Tragedy of Eire

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I lived through ‘The Troubles’ and remember the violence of both sides clearly. To have these atrocities woven through the book and their impact on a remote island is brilliance.
Add to that the two visiting men, who each have their own agendas and play the islanders for their own interests.
The double standard of JP with his Algerian heritage and history repeating itself in the behaviour of Lloyd.
I loved this book, I was mesmerised from the first page.

A beautiful story!

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This was very well narrated. The story was a little obvious and the outcome fairly predictable. I listened to this in one go on a long drive and it filled the time well enough.

Fairly good

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Brilliant narrative. Allegorical on so many levels.
Intertwining of deep aspects of humanity the personal, historical, political. Exceptional narration bought it to life and took me to that island and the people.

Brilliant

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A unique and moving story, told through complex characters and real life events. Narration by Stephen Hogan was perfect and elevated this engrossing book.

Exceptional

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In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.