Clear

A Novel

By: Carys Davies

Narrated by: Russ Bain

Length: 3 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

“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 Parker

One of Vogue’s Best Books of the Year

A “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 story.

©2024 Carys Davies (P)2024 Simon & Schuster Audio

Narration is superb

This is the first book I have listened to by this narrator and he did an amazing job right from the start I couldn’t stop listening. Nice touch as well using a Scottish narrator for this book. The story itself isn’t really anything you haven’t seen before, two unlikely people forming an unlikely friendship/bond. However it is really well written and shines a light on a part of history that isn’t very well taught or understood, at least in the US.

Stunning narrative and performance

What a surprising, strange, glorious story. Small and large, large and small. Captivating. If you love northern coastal places, language, and landscape, this is for you.

Beautiful but Slow

This book is beautifully written and brilliantly narrated. My only issue is how slow the story was. It felt like the conflict in the description was secondary to descriptions and inner thoughts. At points it dragged. I recommend this book if you are very invested in character studies but not if you are one who anticipates plot.

Unusual and touching

Definitely an unusual story. Unique setting and time period, a bit of history, but mostly very touching characters.

A wonderful story.

A soothing, lullaby of deep thought and emotion. A joy to hear. I will listen to it again and again, I am sure.

Exquisite, lovely, moving

Every time I paused this book, it felt like I had to extract myself from a remote cabin on a remote island in 19th century Scotland; the characters and the landscape were that vivid. The language was exquisite and pleasurable to experience. And the arc of the story was affecting and life-affirming. I’m grateful to have learned about The Scottish Clearances, an important and unlovely period of history, in the loveliest possible way.