Book interview: The Colony is a metaphor for Ireland and the impact of violence
Audrey Magee
Audrey Magee simply has to write. It’s as essential to her as breathing. It’s through writing that she works out what she thinks about the world and explores its many complexities. She conveys and illustrates these concepts like an artist applying multi-layers of paint. And it’s a painter, Mr Lloyd, who drives the drama in her long-awaited second novel, The Colony.
But when she says that she couldn’t be anything but a writer — that she’s tried everything else — she’s being a bit disingenuous. It’s not that she doesn’t have the ability to pursue other careers; a skilled linguist, she started her working life as a high-flying journalist. But that profession didn’t give her room to explore all the thoughts that filled her head.
