Clear is set on a remote Scottish island during the Highland Clearances, a period in which much of the rural population of the Scottish Highlands and Islands was forcibly evicted from the land to make way for the much more profitable large scale grazing of sheep.

John Ferguson accepts the task of travelling to the island to evict (‘clear’) its sole inhabitant, Ivar, who has lived alone there for many years. For John the task is borne out of financial necessity in order to earn the funds to establish a new church.

His wife, Mary, has doubts about the morality of the mission, mindful of the human impact of what John has been tasked to do. ‘Into her mind a picture came of this vast emptying-out – a long grey and never-ending procession of tiny figures snaking their way like a river through the country. She saw them moving away with quiet resignation, leading animals and small children, carrying tools and furniture and differently sized bundles, and when at last they disappeared she saw the low houses they’d left behind, roofless hearths open to the rain and the wind and the ghosts of the departed while sheep nosed between the stonework, quietly grazing’. She also worries for John’s safety, prompting her to embark on her own journey. I loved the little details the author gives us about her life, meaning she never feels like a character on the periphery.

When John is injured shortly after reaching the island and rendered unconscious, Ivar takes in what is a complete stranger and tends to him. There are moments of great intimacy as Ivar, who seems to sleep only rarely, keeps watch over John and cares for his bodily needs. Close proximity born out of necessity becomes companionship as John recovers his bodily strength, and then develops into something more for both men. John, though, is plagued with guilt that Ivar does not know his true reason for coming to the island, a mission that will uproot Ivar from everything he has known.

I loved the role that language plays in the book. Initially, John and Ivar cannot communicate; Ivar speaks little if no English and John knows nothing of the language Ivar speaks. (The author has based this on Norn, a long extinct language once spoken on the islands of Orkney and Shetland.) They have to communicate in gestures until, little by little, John begins to learn some words. He marvels at how, in Ivar’s language, a word can often have more than one meaning. It’s an immensely descriptive language with many words for different weather conditions, for example.

The writing is simply beautiful, especially the descriptions of the island. ‘There were days when the mist fell like a cloak on to the island’s shoulders; when rain fell in big, coarse drops, melting the soil into a soft brown soup; when a cold, light wind blew over the ground, making the bogs shiver.’

The author resists the temptation to provide an unambiguous resolution to the story, instead leaving the reader to imagine the future lives of the three characters.

Clear is a tender love story, a hymn to a lost way of life and to the raw beauty of the natural world.

I really enjoy Carys Davies, writing especially West and her short stories, so I was eager to read a historical novel by her set in Scotland. I really enjoyed Clear.

Davies can conjure up such a vivid sense of place without being overly descriptive. It's a while since I've read a novel where I've been so thoroughly transported to a different time and place and that's a great achievement for such a short book.

I very much enjoyed spending time with the characters and seeing how the events in the novel changed them. They all have their unique quirks and traits. She has a great knack of getting to the heart of what makes her characters tick and the seeming small events in their lives which actually have a big impact on them.

Whilst I don't want to give anything away, I loved the ending!

This weekend on a train to London and back I read Carys Davies’ latest book Clear which is set on the Scottish island of Orkney. It’s a very fluid read and I flew through it, immersed in the setting and the characters themselves. Whilst it’s not a novel in which there is a lot of drama, it doesn’t mean it’s not a novel full of emotion, which it is. It has definitely made me want to read more on the Scottish clearings and I’m certainly going to look at her previous books based on this.

1843. On a remote Scottish island, Ivar, the sole occupant, leads a life of quiet isolation until the day he finds a man unconscious on the beach below the cliffs. The newcomer is John Ferguson, an impoverished church minister sent to evict Ivar and turn the island into grazing land for sheep. Unaware of the stranger's intentions, Ivar takes him into his home, and in spite of the two men having no common language, a fragile bond begins to form between them. Meanwhile on the mainland, John's wife Mary anxiously awaits news of his mission.

Against the rugged backdrop of this faraway spot beyond Shetland, Carys Davies's intimate drama unfolds with tension and tenderness: a touching and crystalline study of ordinary people buffeted by history and a powerful exploration of the distances and connections between us. Perfectly structured and surprising at every turn, Clear is a marvel of storytelling, an exquisite short novel by a master of the form.

My thoughts ..

Kind and gentle Ivor meets John. Following John’s dramatic fall off a cliff edge on the remote island Ivor finds him and cares for him.
Years of solitude Ivor has had only the landscape and his animals for company, there is also a language barrier. John and Ivor share words learning words for
Objects and scenery in each other’s native tongue.
The more that John gets to know Ivor he does not want to evict him from the Island.
Mary John’s wife wants to go and bring him home and so her adventure also begins.
This was a delightful novella under 200 pages wonderfully written with lovely imagery and great characters.

This is an unusual but compelling story. Set during the Scottish Clearances, a minister of the newly established Free Church, finding himself short of money, accepts a temporary assignment to sail to a remote Shetland island, to remove the last remaining inhabitant. Of course, things don’t go exactly as planned!

I loved the dual narrative, the author switching seamlessly between characters. Despite the lack of dialogue, as the characters didn’t speak the same language, the characters were both brought vividly to life.

I was surprised at how readily the minister accepted such a dubious assignment, considering his reasons for leaving the Church of Scotland, and think he would (or should) have had ethical and moral reasons for not taking the job.

I enjoyed the story, especially the historical context and read it in one sitting, however I found the ending to be rather abrupt.

I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am actually left a little speechless by this book. I picked it up as a quicker read after a few behemoths, and ended up being taken into this richly atmospheric, tangible story, that speaks profoundly to the nature of isolation and loneliness.

With stunningly simple prose, Davies gets really deep into the heart of these characters, and somehow has created a deeply evocative relationship between two men who don’t speak the same language, and whose desires are at drastic opposition to each other.

It is quite short, and there’s perhaps room for growth, but I think that this book achieves so much, while using so little, and it will linger with me for a while.

With thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

This novella is set in 1843, against the historical background of the foundation of the New Free Church of Scotland and the Clearances, where wealthy landowners realised there was more money to be made from using their land for pasture than farming and set about evicting their tenant farmers using ruthless methods.

Having left his living as a Protestant minister in order to join the Free Church, John Ferguson finds himself impoverished and unable to provide for his new wife. He takes a job requiring him to travel to a remote Shetland island in order to evict the last remaining inhabitant, Ivar, who stubbornly clings to the old ways scraping a meagre living off the land and is the last speaker of the island's native language. When John meets with an accident soon after his arrival, he is rescued and nursed back to health by an unsuspecting Ivar. As a bond forms between the two men, John finds it harder and harder to reveal the real reason for his presence on the island, and not only because the two men do not have a language in common.

Carys Davies' writing does not quite achieve the stark poignancy of Claire Keegan's in Small Things Like These, say, but it nevertheless conveys a great deal in its relatively few pages. She paints a vivid picture of a harsh landscape and way of living, of loneliness so dep it hadn't even been recognised and of connection, and of betrayal and its resolution. Much is made of the all-but-dead language as John sets about learning it in order to communicate with Ivar, and in so doing comes to look at his surroundings with new eyes - it's an ingenious way of bringing a landscape and climate to life. There is much to appreciate in this little book.

A powerful novella that explores isolation, extinct language, exploitation, marriage and love.

It seems there are quite a few novels set on isolated islands that explore the exploitation of those who are socially weaker. Of these The Colony by Magee ranks highest, followed by O'Connor's Whalefall and then Clear by Davies. All three very worthy novels. I actually think it would be very interesting to read and discuss them in collaboration and hope to see these authors meet up on a panel at some point.

Clear is a dense novel with layers of meaning to unpack and some, quite often, profound writing.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.

Davies achieves so much in this short, beautifully crafted novel. At its heart is the contradiction – in making the moral choice to leave the established church for the fledgeling Church of Scotland, financial necessity leads John to take on the decidedly immoral job of informing Ivar of his eviction from his remote island home as part of the Highland Clearances. However, things don’t go exactly to plan.

There is humour and compassion in the mutual misunderstandings of John and Ivar, and a subversion of the Robinson Crusoe trope – it is Ivar who teaches John his language, not the other way round. Mary too is a wonderful character, with her awkward assertiveness and quiet self-reliance. I enjoyed the ending, which didn’t follow the predictable path.
*
Copy from NetGalley

Wow, this novel absolutely blew me away. It was short in length but oh my there was so much within its pages.
Jeff John Ferguson, driven by a need for money to support himself and his wife Mary is deposited on a remote Scottish island to impart the news that its only resident, Ivar must leave.
No problem you would think, but what if John had an accident and found himself in Ivar’s tumble down cottage being nursed back to health? Language begins as a barrier before hand signals, the odd common words form a broken but efficient communication between the two. John involves himself in Ivar’s simple existence, a new -found respect and even friendship ensues.
On the mainland all Mary can think of is her husband, their marriage, and ultimately the return of her husband and mounts her own rescue mission.
The voices of the characters are all so different, but wonderful, their feeling, emotions laid bare within the pages. Davies writing is nothing but stunningly beautiful and poignant, entwined with a story of belonging, of loneliness, of love and all its varying forms.
No review would ever do this small but exquisite novel justice, you simply have to read it for yourself.

When a BookTuber predicted that Carys Davies’ new novel "Clear" might be longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, I wondered if I might be able to get an ARC of the novel. In addition, a friend had mentioned that they loved Davies’ most recent publication, West, so when I saw that "Clear" was available to read, I didn’t hesitate to request it. I was overjoyed and grateful when Granta approved my request, and things only got better from there!

I started reading "Clear" almost as soon as I was approved for the ARC, but I started reading the book when I was tired and distracted, so I put it aside and started it again the next day…And then I didn’t stop until I was finished.

Davies’ novel is set on a remote island north of Scotland in the 1840s during two pivotal events in the protagonist’s story: the Scottish (Highland) Clearances and the Great Disruption (in the Scottish church when some ministers left to form the Free Church). The protagonist, John Ferguson, is a minister with the Free Church, and his wife is Mary. To raise funds for his new church, John agrees to travel to a remote island and “remove” the remaining resident living there. However, after an accident, John Ferguson finds himself in the care of and indebted to his saviour: Ivar…The remaining inhabitant. What ensues is the story of the relationship between the two men. John Ferguson and Ivar learn about one another and themselves and despite the problems they encounter resulting from the language barrier, a closeness forms.

I love Davies’ writing. She masterfully created the setting, environment, and ambiance. I was lost in her nature writing! And while there’s not a lot of dialogue, it doesn’t matter because it wasn’t necessary—especially since John Ferguson and Ivar don’t speak the same language. I loved that the two didn’t need to share a language to live together peacefully and contentedly. And the moments when the two attempt to communicate, the humour, patience, and frustration felt natural to the situation.

The story is not heavy on plot, but at its core, the story appears to be about self-discovery and focuses on character development. John, Ivar, and Mary all learn about who they are, what they do and don’t want, and acknowledge their fears; I feel that’s why Mary—when speaking with John at the end of the story—proposes an alternative life with Ivar.

Like another reviewer, I feel it would have been nice to learn more about Mary’s relationship with her friend Alice. But perhaps that’s a different story (please, Ms Davies!)? Otherwise, I have nothing negative to say except that I wish I had more time with John Ferguson and Ivar, which is surprising since I’m not a fan of romance, but I just wanted to stay with them a bit longer. Of course, that’s not a real complaint.

If you’re a fan of historical fiction; Davies’ writing; romance that isn’t heavy-handed; reading about nature, wildlife, and historical events; and enjoy reading objectively good writing, then this could be for you!

Many thanks to Granta Publications and NetGalley for an ARC of Carys Davies’ new novel "Clear" in exchange for an honest review. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to read such a fantastic story!

The Redemption of Galen Pike by Carys Davies is one of my favourite collections of short stories; so I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to read Clear, her new novella, which manages to encompass so much in terms of history, language and human connection.

From an historical point of view the story is set in 1843 and covers the Great Disruption in the Scottish church, when a number of ministers rebelled against the church and broke away to form the Free Church. In the characters of John Ferguson and his wife Mary we see the struggles and prejudices faced by these ministers and how hope and faith were at times the only thing keeping them going.

In addition the book is set during the time of The Clearances, where rural communities were forcibly removed from their homes to make way for crops, cattle and sheep. Ivar represents these communities, who were powerless against their landlords and faced the upheaval of leaving everything they’d ever known for an uncertain future.

The landscape plays an important part in this story and it is beautifully observed and described. You can feel the power and strength of the wind and the sea. The dramatic landscape emphasises Ivar’s isolated existence and the helplessness of his situation.

Although Ivar and John do not have a common language when they meet, John takes on the task of learning Ivar’s language. Carys Davies explains in the notes at the end of the book that this language is based on Norn, an extinct language which was spoken on the islands of Shetland and Orkney. I found this fascinating and it will certainly interest readers who have an interest in the history and development of language.

Although it tackles a period in history which caused suffering to many, the book advocates the power of human connection and hope for the future. As Mary reflects sometimes ‘terrible surprises…led to great and unanticipated happiness.’

This was a tiny but v interesting book about a minister who is despatched to an extremely northerly island in Scotland to evict the last remaining tenant as part of the Highland Clearances. I wasn't convinced to start with, but once I pushed through the descriptions of the land and the vocabulary lists (neither of which are my thing) I was intrigued by the characterisation, the depiction of the Highland Clearances and the relationships at play. Would defos read more of Carys Davies' work.

“How is it, she thought, we never see the big things coming?”

Carys Davies novel is set against the back drop of 1840’s Scotland where the clearances of the rural population took place to remove communities through forced evictions for future plans. John, a Scottish minister takes on the difficult job of removing the last inhabitant on this Island. Ivar has lived here for decades on his own. Upon John’s arrival he has an accident that leaves him injured. Ivar finds John and helps him recover. Neither of them know each other’s language and find a way to communicate however Ivar doesn’t realise why John was sent there and when he does things take a turn.

This novel was full of heart and compassion. The author’s lyrical style amplified the vision of Scotland at this time and the ordeal the residents went through during that period of the “clearances”.

The story explores the ways in which we has humans connect. It shows how people against all odds will fight for their way of life and survive. It’s a reminder of how history has shaped where we are today.

An atmospheric novel that will leave an impression long after it’s finished.

This novel is beautifully written with exquisite evocative crafting of its setting, the thoughts of its characters and the imagery of the sea, nature and the wildlife.

The exploration of isolation and how this can happen through geography and our own choosing was profound.

Then there's the idea of loneliness and how this is different to isolation and can often be more obvious when we are with others, particularly if we feel we have damaged the relationship we have with them.

The historical setting giving insights into the church upheavals and the Clearances of Scotland were interesting and grounded in a tender love of the furthest reaches of rural Scotland and its people.

However, I did find the ending rushed and couldn't quite get on board with the resolution of the story feeling that I needed more character insights and time spent in the moments towards the end to feel more satisfied.

This honest review is given with thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book.

Set in 1843, amidst the Highland Clearances where landlords sought to systematically dispossess rural Scottish people from their land and steal it for grazing livestock. The story revolves around 3 characters:

Ivar, the sole occupant of a remote island between Shetland and Norway, his family long gone, content with his meagre holdings. He is the last remaining speaker of his language.

John, an impoverished priest of the newly separated Free Church. A humble and holy man who takes on some much-needed paid work, communicating to the last remaining inhabitant of a far-flung island, that he is to be evicted.

Mary, Johns wife. A patient woman, supportive and devoted to her husband. As time goes on she becomes increasingly worried for John's safety on his errand.

Once on the island, John becomes incapacitated and finds himself at the mercy of Ivar, with a language barrier between them and an unfortunate message to somehow deliver. Unpredictable connections are forged as the deadline for Ivar's eviction rapidly approaches, meanwhile, Mary decides to take her life into her own hands.

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Beautifully atmospheric. I love remote island settings and none of the short word count was spared in bringing us there. The full nine yards, howling winds, wheeling gulls and foreboding skies.

There is little dialogue (on account of the language barrier), though much is said without being explicitly stated. I loved the exploration of Ivar's language (based on the extinct 'Norn') and how it was weaved in and used as a tool to further describe the island.

There was room perhaps to pad out some parts of the story. I felt that there was more to Mary's feelings for her friend Alice and that this may have formed the basis for her surprising decision at the end of this story. I'd love to have heard more from her. I also found the ending somewhat rushed, though it did ramp up the pace.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novella, a quiet and beautiful page-turner. If you're a fan of Claire Keegan, you'll enjoy this.

Clear is a compact novella aiming to tackle a lot of intense and emotional topics. Denys is great at bringing to life the stark reality of Ivar’s life of solitude and the quiet, brutal beauty of his isolated island. I only wish more time could’ve been devoted to a deeper plumbing of the emotions of these characters. I felt like the book was ambitious but didn’t quite achieve all it set out to do, though Denys has still created an interesting world and a story in the attempt.

Thanks to Netgalley and Granta Publications for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Clear by Carys Davies is my first five star read of the year!!!
Against the backdrop of a secluded Scottish island, this atmospheric novel explores themes of loneliness and isolation whilst delving into language as a profound means of human connection.
The narrative unfolds around John and Ivar, who, confronted by unforeseen circumstances, become dependent on one another, despite their inability to communicate in each other's language.
Beyond a captivating and beautifully written story (I cannot emphasise enough how perfect the writing is), Clear has taught me about language extinction within the Shetland Islands and has introduced me to the historical reality of the Highland Clearances, which embarrassingly, I knew nothing about.
Overall, it's perfect in every way! It's heartbreaking, atmospheric and tender. And only 120 pages long!

Davies is a terrific writer, brining out complex modern themes through an historical lens, and in the process, shining a light on a part of our collective story that, at least in England, is not well known. Wonderful.

I liked the setting and the idea of this short novel. The descriptions of nature were beautiful and I could really feel the desolation, the wind and the mist on the island. Not everything worked as well for me though. The characters were interesting, but I felt I didn’t really get to know them. I would certainly like to have learned more about Mary, who fascinated me most. Also, the development towards the end felt a bit forced to me.
Thank you Granta and Netgalley UK for the ARC.