Clear

A Novel

By: Carys Davies

Narrated by: Russ Bain

Length: 3 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

A stunning, exquisite novel from an award-winning writer about a minister dispatched to a remote island off of Scotland to “clear” the last remaining inhabitant, who has no intention of leaving—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. The two men do not speak a common language, but as John builds a dictionary of Ivar’s world, they learn to communicate and, as Ivar sees himself for the first time in decades reflected through the eyes of another person, they build a fragile, unusual connection.

Unfolding in the 1840s in the final stages of the infamous Scottish Clearances—which saw whole communities of the rural poor driven off the land in a relentless program of forced evictions—this singular, beautiful, deeply surprising novel explores the differences and connections between us, the way history shapes our deepest convictions, and how the human spirit can survive despite all odds. Moving and unpredictable, sensitive and spellbinding, Clear is a profound and pleasurable book.

©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.

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.

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.