THIS MONTH’S SUPPER WILL TAKE PLACE AT THE GREYHOUND, WIVENHOE

At our  gathering from 7.00pm on Monday 5th June we’ll be talking about Audrey Magee’s The Colony.

SHORTLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE
LONGLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE 2022

‘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.’

Publisher’s Synopsis

Praise for the Novel

‘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 a novel about big, important things.’ Financial Times

‘Magee’s prose is always luminous,  lyrical and pungent.’ Observer

‘A quietly powerful book – the ending is a punch to the gut.’ Sunday Times

‘A riveting examination of cultural tension at the height of the Troubles.’ TLS

About the Author

Audrey Magee was born in Ireland and lives in Wicklow. Her first novel, The Undertaking, was shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, for France’s Festival du Premier Roman and for the Irish Book Awards. It was also nominated for the Dublin Literary Award and the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. The Undertaking has been translated into ten languages and is being adaapted for film.