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nitroglycerin's review against another edition
dark
sad
slow-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
4.5
A slow tale highlighting the ongoing violence of colonialism in its obvious and visceral bulletins of the real killings of 1979 and the quiet sinister ways art and language are abused, stolen, wiped out and forgotten. The Colony is brilliant in the way it lets us into the inner workings of so many characters on the island, most of them wholly awful. Lloyd and JP in particular are led by motives that are so incredibly selfish that they can’t see the harm they bring to the Island. Lloyd is ignorant of it while JP is so blinded by his own desires for greatness he can’t see the irony of how his behaviour is part of the problem.
The real life killings of people through the troubles in 1979 interspersed throughout just emphasise the more violet harm that’s ongoing.
The real life killings of people through the troubles in 1979 interspersed throughout just emphasise the more violet harm that’s ongoing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Colonisation, and War
h_nn_hp's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Grief, and Colonisation
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Vomit
carolyn1504's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Colonisation
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: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Sexism and Toxic relationship
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: Death, Violence, Murder, Colonisation, and War
leo14's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Gun violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
readwithchar's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Racism, and Grief
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: Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Mass/school shootings
shelleyanderson4127's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-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
5.0
This is a brilliant read which tackles important issues. The characterization is excellent. There's the arrogant English painter Mr. Lloyd, desperate to prove his worth, who spends the summer on an isolated island off Ireland's West coast. There he clashes with the French linguist JP Masson, who has spent every summer for five years researching the decline of the Irish language among the islanders for his Ph.D. Masson sees the monolingual Lloyd as a corrupting influence. And there are the islanders themselves, especially the young widow Mairead and her teenaged son James, both of whom are suspicious of but also drawn to the wider world beyond the island.
As the summer progresses tensions mount, and the characters' longings and fears are laid bare. The issues of privilege and responsibility, of cultural appropriation, of the after effects of colonization, are seamlessly woven into the story. So, too, are short, vivid accounts of political violence in northern Ireland. Magee, an award-winning journalist, shows how history plays out in real flesh and bone.
The writing is poetic and concise; the whole book compelling and honest. It forces the reader to question who owns a tradition and exactly what is worth saving in a tradition. I loved this book. It's one of the most beautifully written stories I've read all year. If I was a betting woman, I would gamble on The Colony winning this year's Booker Prize.
As the summer progresses tensions mount, and the characters' longings and fears are laid bare. The issues of privilege and responsibility, of cultural appropriation, of the after effects of colonization, are seamlessly woven into the story. So, too, are short, vivid accounts of political violence in northern Ireland. Magee, an award-winning journalist, shows how history plays out in real flesh and bone.
The writing is poetic and concise; the whole book compelling and honest. It forces the reader to question who owns a tradition and exactly what is worth saving in a tradition. I loved this book. It's one of the most beautifully written stories I've read all year. If I was a betting woman, I would gamble on The Colony winning this year's Booker Prize.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexism, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, and Classism
There are examples of political killings during The Troubles in Norther Ireland.kairhone's review against another edition
challenging
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Colonisation, and Classism