"Tender, riveting, and inventive is Clear, the newest offering and masterpiece from the brilliant Carys Davies. It will take your breath away...What a thrill." --Sarah Jessica ParkerWinner of the Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize, 2024 Bookmark Festival Book of the Year, and Wales Book of the YearA Vogue, The Washington Post, NPR, Kirkus Reviews, The Guardian, and The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Best Book of the YearA "daring and necessary...sophisticated and playful" (The New York Times) novel from an award-winning writer, Clear is the story of a minister dispatched to a remote island to "clear" its last remaining inhabitant--an unforgettable tale of resilience, change, and hope. John, an impoverished Scottish minister, has accepted a job evicting the lone remaining occupant of an island north of Scotland--Ivar, who has been living alone for decades, with only the animals and the sea for company. Though his wife, Mary, has serious misgivings about the errand, he decides to go anyway, setting in motion a chain of events that neither he nor Mary could have predicted. Shortly after John reaches the island, he falls down a cliff and is found, unconscious and badly injured, by Ivar who takes him home and tends to his wounds. "Clear chronicles the surprising bond that develops between these two men...pack[ing] a great deal of power into a compact tale" (The Wall Street Journal) about connection, home, and hope--in which John begins to learn Ivar's language, and Ivar sees himself reflected through the eyes of another person for the first time in decades. Unfolding during the final stages of the infamous Scottish Clearances--a period of the 19th century which saw whole communities of the rural poor driven off the land in a relentless program of forced evictions--this singular novel explores what binds us together in the face of insurmountable difference, the way history shapes our deepest convictions, and how the human spirit can endure despite all odds. Moving and unpredictable, "a love letter to the scorching power of language" (The Guardian), Clear is "a jewel of a novel" (The Washington Post)--a profound and unforgettable read.
Book details
Format
Hardcover
Publication date
April 2, 2024
ISBN
9781668030660
Publisher
Scribner Book Company
Pages
208
Language
English
BISAC
Fiction, Literary, Historical, General, World Literature, Scotland - 19th Century
If you are a fan of Claire Keegan's short but impactful novels, you may want to check out Clear by Carys Davies. Clear is a small story in length, but with a big heart. Told in just over two hundred pages, Clear is an intimate and tender portrayal of three characters in 1843 Scotland.
The Booksellers Association chose Clear as one of its Indie Next picks and described it as “Insightful and memorable, Clear is an elemental portrayal of loneliness, language, and unlikely companionship. Set on a harsh and unforgiving isle in northern Scotland, Davies elegantly shares how regular daily moments can be profound.
