Colony

NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2025 NPR BEST BOOK OF 2025 BOOKLIST BEST BOOK OF 2025 A mega bestseller in Sweden — and winner of two of its biggest literary awards — Colony is a gripping portrayal of contemporary society and its alternatives. Burnt-out from a demanding job and a bustling life in the city, Emelie has left town to spend a few days in the country. Once there, in the peaceful, verdant hills, down by the river she encounters a mysterious group of seven people, each with personal stories full of pain, alienation, and the longing to live differently. They are misfits, each in their own way, and all led by the enigmatic and charismatic Sara. How did they end up there? Are they content with the rigid roles they’ve been assigned? And what happens when an outsider appears and is initially drawn to their alternative lifestyle, but cannot help stirring things up? A masterful blend of humour, emotion, unforgettable characters, and sharp social commentary, Colony is a magnetic and deeply touching story about love, community, and the unfathomable power we have over others and that others have over us.

NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF 2025 NPR BEST BOOK OF 2025 BOOKLIST BEST BOOK OF 2025 A mega bestseller in Sweden — and winner of two of its biggest literary awards — Colony is a gripping portrayal of contemporary society and its alternatives. Burnt-out from a demanding job and a bustling life in the city, Emelie has left town to spend a few days in the country. Once there, in the peaceful, verdant hills, down by the river she encounters a mysterious group of seven people, each with personal stories full of pain, alienation, and the longing to live differently. They are misfits, each in their own way, and all led by the enigmatic and charismatic Sara. How did they end up there? Are they content with the rigid roles they’ve been assigned? And what happens when an outsider appears and is initially drawn to their alternative lifestyle, but cannot help stirring things up? A masterful blend of humour, emotion, unforgettable characters, and sharp social commentary, Colony is a magnetic and deeply touching story about love, community, and the unfathomable power we have over others and that others have over us.

""An outstanding multigenerational novel...We are hooked from the moment we meet Maude.""  -- New York Times An unforgettable story of love, acceptance, and tradition from New York Times bestselling author Anne Rivers Siddons. When Maude Chambliss first arrives at Retreat, the seasonal home of her husband's aristocratic family, she is a nineteen-year-old bride fresh from South Carolina's Low Country. Among the patrician men and women who reside in the summer colony on the coast of Maine, her gypsy-like beauty and impulsive behavior immediately brand her an outsider. She, as well as everyone else, is certain she will never fit in. And of course, she doesn't...at first. But over the many summers she spends there, Maude comes to cherish life in the colony, as she does the people who share it with her. There is her husband Peter, consumed with a darkness of spirit; her adored but dangerously fragile children; her domineering mother-in-law, who teaches her that it is the women who possess the strength to keep the colony intact; and Maine native Micah Willis, who is ultimately Maude's truest friend. This brilliant novel, rich with emotion, is filled with appealing, intense, and indomitable characters. Anne Rivers Siddons paints a portrait of a woman determined to preserve the spirit of past generations—and the future of a place where she became who she is...a place called Colony .