pickA quiet but challenging book. Two foreigners - a French linguist and an English painter - arrive on a very small Irish-speaking Irish island in the 1970s, each with their own agenda. The story of the island is interspersed with matter of fact paragraphs of incidents from the Troubles. Asks questions about the impact and demands of foreigners on a small community, and how those butt up against the community‘s own needs and desires.
pickAn English artist comes to an Irish island in the midst of the Troubles. A Frenchman arrives to study the Irish language. You‘re drawn into their work and also the lives of the islanders on whom they are reliant, and whose lives they are wilfully upturning. Each chapter is interspersed with brief details of the violence on the mainland which slowly infiltrates the lives of the islanders. Lovely, sobering, witty and heartbreaking in equal measure👇
My read -
Just started this one and am looking forward to the lyrical writing and historical information.
pickSet in the 1970s on an isolated island in Ireland an English artist, Mr Lloyd, and a French linguist, JP, spend a summer living within the small island community. Both are exploiting the islanders in different ways. Told mainly through dialogues, inner thoughts of the characters and brief news summaries of killings in Northern Ireland, the novel explores colonialism, language, art and the Troubles.
pickA very well written tale bringing forth themes of neocolonialism, indigenous cultures, and the loss/ negotiations of language and culture. The story is slow but beautifully, sensitively written. Characters are well fleshed out. Narration was great on Audible.
A strange collage to celebrate a wonderful gift! Thank you @BarbaraBB !! The lovely wrapping matched Molly‘s new Spring harness. 😁🌈 (She wasn‘t sold on it yet because I got a different size this time. No lady likes to hear she‘s gone up a size. 😉) I am super excited for both these books!! The Colony has sat in my Amazon cart for months waiting for a price drop. 💕💕💕
pickThat was my Sunday sorted then. What a fabulous read. So many interlinking themes and the political interjection through out. Some amazing characters and some thoroughly despicable ones.
A fantastic read ❤️
Quiet Sunday morning read.
pick4 Jan-10 Feb 22
#Bookerlonglist 8
A favourite from the longlist.
Two outsiders - a French linguist and English painter - bicker and joist on an isolated Irish fishing island which they both use for their own ends. Neither has any regard for its inhabitants. An indictment of the legacy of post-colonialism, it also raises questions of cultural appropriation, art and plagiarism.
I wanted a better outcome for James and Mairead but was never hopeful.
pickThis is an absolute gem of a novel. I‘ve seen it described as “quiet” which it is, but also makes its point with a slam dunk! I think many readers will find something to love in this novel, it‘s political, a character study, and features exquisite nature writing. The way Magee inserted the facts of the attacks committed by and on the IRA was jarring, intentionally so, I imagine. A phenomenal read. And spoiler, I suppose but I despise Lloyd.
