I've read these two (and I'm giving Small Things Like These a second read) this week, and enjoyed them both. While the Keegan is really slight, it packs a lot into its pages. She seems to have a way of putting down lines that have deeper resonance. That's why I'm giving it a reread, to pick up on clues, etc that I may have missed. I read (and reread) her earlier work, Foster, a few days ago and loved that (and want to see The Quiet Girl, the Irish adaptation of it that was released a few months back.) Small Things Like These is definitely darker territory than Foster, as it deals with questions of institutional abuse and societal acquiescence by way of the Magdalene laundries.
The Colony is a different beast. It's just shy of 400 pages and deals with the inhabitants of an unnamed Irish island, which is paid a summer visit by an Englishman and a Frenchman, the former looking to paint life on this outpost and the latter there studying the decline of the Irish language over generations. Effectively, it's discussing colonialism using the island's microcosm. But the way Magee internalises her characters is great, most notably in Mr Lloyd, the Englishman, who seems to think in painterly daubs, with short phrases. like brushstrokes, capturing his thoughts. Beyond it all are the sectarian killings of the Troubles over the summer on 1979, at first far away and detached, but gradually reaching the island. Really enjoyed this one.
