My intuition tells me that I need to step well back to see it clearly, that only time and distance will allow the patterns to make sense. Magee's involving and original novel considers questions of imperialism, ownership, power and exploitation on both a grand scale and an intimate one, obliquely and head-on .

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. It’s a cruel scene, particularly given Lloyd’s earlier lofty dreams of showing “that art is greater than politics. The island is supposedly inhabited by 92 individuals, yet we only really get to know 6 of them, all from the same family - I found this insularity disconcerting; surely with all those cliff walks our main characters would encounter SOMEONE else in an island 3 miles by 1 mile in four months (others are vaguely alluded to only when the curraches are carried in from the sea). It’s an all too common story, and Magee tells it skilfully, giving her novel an ending which makes its point without going for the high drama I half expected. He resents the infiltration of any English into the island, so Lloyd’s appearance is the last straw.

With classics such as Ted Hughes's The Iron Man and award-winners including Emma Carroll's Letters from the Lighthouse, Faber Children's Books brings you the best in picture books, young reads and classics. James (or Seamus to JP) spends time with the English artist and finds out he has an aptitude for painting - which opens up new possibilities for him.

Together with the continuing convulsions of Britain’s failing imperialism, 1979 was a significant year in the UK. Interleaved with scenes of Lloyd failing to charm the islanders are terse chapters recounting Northern Irish atrocities. The first real strength of the book alongside the themes it examines is its use of interior monologue. This is a quietly powerful novel that gently depicts the scar of colonialism on a small Irish Island.Of course ‘the colongy’ is about colonisation - from the influence of the english language, to James not wanting to be a fisherman and wanting to change his life.