Historical fiction is a challenging genre for authors . . . in addition to all the usual requirements for a fiction author, historical fiction authors take on the added burden of research and historical authenticity. In her new book Clear, author Carys Davies takes on all of these challenges and delivers a new novel that rewards the reader with an engaging story centered around a small cast of characters set against the backdrop of a remote island far off the coast of nineteenth century Scotland. Weaving together a few historical lessons about the Scottish Clearing, and the splintering birth of the Free Church of Scotland, Clear delivers an acutely humanized narrative about a young Scottish minister who is sent to a remote island to "clear" the lone inhabitant to make way for the island's landlord to turn the land into a low maintenance grazing station for sheep.

Davies captures countless details about what daily life was like for the island folk at the time, and delivers a unique and touching tale about two men separated by language, faith, and circumstance, who nonetheless, find a way to truly connect.

Definite recommend for fans of historical fiction (especially Scottish history), fans of nature based narratives, and fans of easy reads that leave you wanting more.

For roughly 100 years, landowners across Scotland forced their tenants off the land. Although economic and industrial factors can explain the Highland Clearances intellectually, from the perspective of people evicted from their homes and left with nowhere to go, this process was devastating. It’s little wonder that the protagonist of Carys Davies’s emotional novel, Clear, is hired to eject someone from the only home they’ve known by people too cowardly to do it themselves.

John—an idealistic preacher who wants to set up his own New Free Church community—is hired by a landowner to evict the last man on a remote Orcadian island so that the land can be turned over entirely to sheep. John isn’t told that the last clearance on Lowrie land turned violent. He isn’t told much about what’s supposed to happen to the evicted man. He’s barely told that this man, Ivar, doesn’t speak English and that the only person the Lowries had who could translate died. John is armed only with a small glossary of words that might work, some provisions, and vague directions about where to find Ivar. If you needed any other clues as to the kind of person John is, we get to see him promptly fall off a cliff and nearly drown on his first full day on Ivar’s island.


Ivar takes turns with John as narrator of Clear. Compared to John’s busy brain, Ivar is a placid man of the land. His days and seasons follow centuries-old patterns. He’s been alone for years, after the other inhabitants of the island moved on to the Scottish mainland and Canada. His only companions are a very old, blind cow, and an elderly pony. When Ivar finds, first, a photo of John’s wife and, then, John himself washed up on the shore of his island, it’s the first time he’s seen other people in more than 10 years. Once John recovers from his near-fatal accident and starts to learn Ivar’s language, the plot of Clear begins to move rapidly. John knows that he’s on a deadline to deliver the news about the Lowrie’s plans for Ivar and the island. His growing friendship with Ivar, however, makes him want to put things off as long as possible.

There are some things that happen near the end of Clear that I don’t totally buy, but I do appreciate the way Davies develops an almost irresistible sense of human connection between John and Ivar. The remoteness of Ivar’s island makes it easy for them to, for a time, feel like they’re the only people in the world. I don’t want to spoil the ending of Clear by talking about the book’s climax. That said, I would love to know what other readers make of the ending. In the meantime, I’d recommend this book to readers interested in the Highland Clearances, the Orkneys, and unusual love stories.

I thought this book was beautiful! I read it in one sitting and absolutely loved it! It was short and just a beautiful story that will stay with you long after you put it down.

It's amazing how much content Carys Davies has packed into this one slim volume! It is grounded in specific historical details of the Highland clearances, the Free Church schism, the rising interest in science. It is richly observed with luscious, real-world descriptions of island, sky and sea. It is rooted in a lost language, and yet emphasizes connection, protection, and love. Throughout it all, this book is replete with character--their traits and quirks, their flaws and huge hearts. A stunning, remarkable work of art.

Clear by Carys Davies is a beautifully written gem of a story. Its simplicity is its strength, drawing readers into its world effortlessly. My only complaint? I wanted more! Davies leaves you wanting to linger in the world she's crafted a little while longer. A definite must-read for anyone who appreciates concise yet impactful storytelling.

Fascinating story about a loner living alone on a remote Scotland island and how the man who comes to remove him affects his life and vice versa. It was interesting to read about how a person survives alone in the 1800's and lovely to watch the progression of the strangers to friendship despite zero common language or ways of life.

CLEAR is a beautifully simple, unexpectedly intimate novel that invites readers to a moment in history that’s often overlooked. We follow John Ferguson, an awkward, serious minister, on his task to clear a remote island in Scotland of its lone inhabitant so that the land owner can reclaim his land for his own purposes. This is an ugly, heartbreaking reality that I knew very little about, and Carys Davies somehow shares it with us without literally explaining it.

We also follow John’s wife, as she grapples with her husband’s absence and the potential for so much to go wrong in his task. We meet Ivar, the man who occupies this entire island alone, and we watch as he encounters John Ferguson, and what their connection means for clearing this land.

There is something poetic in the stillness of this book and while it may be perceived as too slow, or without a meaningful plot, there are the smallest moments throughout the book that carry the entire story. Carys Davies is a gifted, thoughtful writer and it feels like each word was carefully chosen. The book is tenderly written and deeply impacted me. A really brilliant five star read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for this advance review copy. All opinions are entirely my own.

‘Clear’ is written in a beautiful and poetic way which is also a satisfying read and draws you in right away. It is clever and witty and I found myself smiling at the situations and the way they are written about, for instance when John falls and his satchel flies off into the water. I loved the characters, especially Ivar who is complicated and wholesome and practical.
It is a short book but full of details which the reader must pay attention to to get full appreciation of the subtleties of the tale and the gentle wit.
I very much enjoyed this book and will be recommending it.

This beautiful story was not at all what I expected. It’s about the Presbyterian ministers who broke from the established church in protest against the system of patronage (wealthy landowners could install their own ministers in parishes on their estates) and formed their own Free Church. However, they gave up their homes and their salaries (emoluments), so had to find alternate ways to earn income and funds for new church buildings until their congregations were self-sustainable.

John Ferguson is one such minister who asks his brother-in-law if he knows of any work and ends up taking on the job of evicting the last inhabitant of a desolate Scottish island that the greedy British landlord wants to use for raising sheep. The story takes place towards the end of The Clearances, a punitive, inhumane practice begun after the Battle of Culloden in the mid-1700s that forced (often burned) Scottish people out of their homes and, if they survived, either onto land that was barren and ill-suited for farming or onto ships bound for the U.S., Canada and Australia.

The day after John arrives on the island, he falls off a cliff and the following day, Ivar finds him, tends to his wounds, and nurses him back to health. In their weeks together, they use pantomime and other visual clues to learn each other’s language and form a strong bond. There’s a surprising twist at the end that I didn’t see coming.

At just over 200 pages, this is a compact story that portrays the emotional toll The Clearances took on the Scottish people and what can happen when a good man takes on a task that is anathema to his moral compass and sees the human side of a tragedy up close rather than through the lens of greed. It’s a beautiful, atmospheric tale that, in little ways, is reminiscent of movies like The Banshees of Inisherin, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, and The Piano. Highly recommended.

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from Scribner through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed are completely my own.

I received this from Netgalley.com.

A quiet reflective story set on a remote island. A quick read and well worth the time.

3.75☆

An introspective novel set in the 1840s during the time of the clearances in Scotland. John, a minister who is part of the newly split Scottish Church, establishing the Scottish Free Church. Since this new church is poor John cannot provide for his wife Mary and takes on extra work, such as this job he agreed on, to remove the last tenant from a remote island, as it could pay well.

Shortly after arriving on the island John falls off a cliff. Ivar, the tenant finds him unconscious and brings him back to his home, helping to restore him back to health. Once awake it took some time for the two to understand each other, not only did John need to continue to heal, but they spoke different languages.

It’s a short novel and contains mostly thoughts of one or the other. We also get Mary, John’s wife, although she is not the main focus. I quite enjoyed her character and wished for more of her.

The book, the language is beautiful despite all of the hardship and upheaval. My initial thoughts were this was a powerful book and perhaps due to it being short, but after finishing it, I did want it to go on.

Wow. I didn't know what I was getting myself into when I started this one. And that was not what I was expecting. But I truly enjoyed all of it. I need to check out more of Carys Davies if these little surprises are behind the pages.

Thank you Scribner and NetGalley for early access to this novel.

What an excellent, intentional novel! I love when an author feel completely in control of their narrative flow and pace. This felt like the perfect length, with the perfect amount of character revelation and intrigue. I also love a novel about language, and this is an excellent example of using tropes of communication to reveal story. I do wish a little more was done with the colonial history here that this book is based on, but that's a small gripe. I need to go through Davies's back catalog and read her other work. A very strong storyteller.

Check this novel out on April 2, 2024, I recommend it!

The book was good when it described the man's life on the island, both before everyone else left and afterwards. Otherwise, it was an okay story until the last few chapters, though I did wonder why the preacher was learning the guy's language instead of teaching him the preacher's own language. He knew the man would be removed to another location within a month and would be required to speak English or Scottish or Norwegian...something besides the language he knew on the island. The story never has the preacher realize that he had wasted an opportunity to teach the man something useful. The sex scene wasn't graphic, but it was completely unexpected. It came out of nowhere and didn't make any sense. And the wife being shot and then having an immediate recovery was bizarre. After so many details about her travels (and the extreme detail about the man's language), the ending is rushed: she's shot, she knows he committed adultery and he knows that she knows, and they all leave the island together.

CLEAR is an intimate and gentle story for fans of literary fiction. Readers hoping for a fast-paced plot should look elsewhere as this is an atmospheric and contemplative story. I loved watching the relationship develop. However, the language disconnect meant a lack of dialogue, which became somewhat tiresome after a while. I was glad for the short length. Anything more would have been too much. Ultimately this is an elegant read, and I look forward to more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance e-galley; all opinions in this review are 100% my own.

Did not realize this book was listed as a queer/LGBTQ story. Do not recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to preview this title.

Tender and atmospheric. Clear is just a little story and still so grand about two men who meet on a small island northern of Scotland in 1843—one wounded, the other the caretaker.

Imagine waves crashing against rocks. Imagine fog so thick you might get lost. Imagine a tall, bearded man knitting socks next to a fire for the wounded man. Imagine a man with a secret trying to learn his caretaker’s language. Imagine hardly any dialogue but so many feelings under the surface. Just imagine. Do you feel it? The vibes of this little book?

Clear is short, only 208 pages, and while reading I doubted if it should have been (way) longer to tell John’s, Ivar’s, AND Mary’s story or if this is just the right length. A small part of me yearns for something more, but I believe the size of the book fits this intimate story told in short and blunt chapters.

I fell in love with Ivar, the hermit who had lived alone for decades. Every time he started knitting, I began to smile. And when he smiled while looking at John, I smiled even harder. And in the end, I swallowed a lump in my throat when Mary … But I can’t tell what happened because I’d spoil too much.

Just know that this is an intimate and gentle story on a rugged island.

‘Clear’ written Carys Davies is historical fiction set in the 1840s in a remote island off the coast of Scotland.

This is the first book I have read of Davies but have heard wonderful things of her prior books, ‘West’ and ‘The Mission House.’ ‘Clear’ is a moving and compassionate story about human relationships. This book took me back in time to the 1840s and reminded me of a novel we would have read in an honors English class.

In Scottish history in the 1840s, rebel ministers left the Scottish Church to form a new Free Church. During this time, John, a poor clergyman, traveled to a remote Scottish island, leaving his wife behind, to remove or “clear” the last remaining person, Ivar, from the island to reclaim the island. Unfortunately, soon after John’s arrival, he has an accident leaving him to be cared for by Ivar. The two do not speak the same language, but over time begin to understand one another an a friendship is created.

I enjoyed this book and suggest adding it to your 2024 list of books to consider!

Thank you #NetGalley and #Scribner for the opportunity to read this book early in exchange for a review. All opinions and thoughts are those of my own.

Publish date: April 2, 2024

What started as an atmospheric, eerie read transformed to a dry narrative that ramped up unexpectedly at the end to deliver an incredibly rushed ending I could have never imagined.

This was an incredible fictional tale of two men brought together during the evacuations of the Scottish Highlands. I was not previously aware of this portion of Scotland's history, and was immediately taken with the storyline. The characters were beautifully written, as were their interactions with each other, despite sharing a language barrier. Absolutely stunning story, I only wish that it were longer!