The Colony

Maraid watches her son, James, striding out across the grass, a bottle of milk for each of their visitors in hand. His father, grandfather and uncle are all lost to the sea; her mother-in-law still knits socks for men who will never wear them. The visitors are here to paint, to record, to celebrate - so they say - this island and its purity, the language all but vanished across the water. They pay of course but what, some wonder, will they cost? Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2022.