Clear
by Carys Davies
Clear by Carys Davies, is a historical novel which draws inspiration from two major events in Scottish history: the Highland Clearances, when over several decades in the 18th and 19th centuries, many rural communities of crofters were forcibly evicted by landowners, and the formation of the Free Church of Scotland in 1843, after a schism which saw several ministers leave the established Church of Scotland.
John is one of the rebel ministers. Recently married in his middle age to independent-minded Mary, and facing penury after losing his paid tenure, he accepts a job offered to him by a land manager which requires him to visit a (fictional) remote island beyond the Shetlands to evict its remaining occupant, Ivar. This distant destination is alien to John, the rugged landscape magnificent yet forbidding, the language of Ivar foreign and difficult to understand. For John, this will be a journey of discovery.
Clear’s historical
setting is well researched and authentically rendered. Yet Davies is less
interested in plot and narrative than in the psychological and emotional interplay
between the cast of main characters – John, Mary and Ivar. As in her previous books (I had enjoyed West
when I read it some years ago), Davies’ writing is atmospheric, introspective
and poetic. This is a slim book with a rich aftertaste.
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