The Fogging
by Luke Horton
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Pub Date Jul 02 2020 | Archive Date Jul 03 2020
Scribe UK | Scribe
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Description
A compelling tale of the slow disintegration of a relationship and the unravelling of a man.
Tom and Clara are two struggling academics in their mid-thirties, who decide to take their first holiday in ten years. On the flight over to Indonesia, Tom experiences a debilitating panic attack, something he hasn’t had in a long time, which he keeps hidden from Clara. At the resort, they meet Madeleine, a charismatic French woman, her Australian partner, Jeremy, and five-year-old son, Ollie, and the two couples strike up an easy friendship. The holiday starts to look up, even to Tom, who is struggling to get out of his own head. But when Clara and Madeleine become trapped in the maze-like grounds of the hotel during ‘the fogging’ — a routine spraying of pesticide — the dynamics suddenly shift between Tom and Clara, and the atmosphere of the holiday darkens.
Told with equal parts compassion and irony, and brimming with observations that charm, illuminate, and devastate, The Fogging dives deep into what it means to be strong when your foundation is built on sand.
Advance Praise
‘Claustrophobic and vertiginous … an unshrinking and skilfully drawn portrait of a decaying relationship. In restrained prose, Horton illuminates the darker edges of masculinity. His is a frequency finely tuned to silences, gaps of language and meaning, things left unsaid — and their cumulative weight. Like a brewing storm on an oppressive summer day, The Fogging is quiet but assured, building towards the thunderclap of its final pages.’
Jennifer Down, author of Our Magic Hour
‘I loved The Fogging. It’s such a finely controlled novel, so filled with creeping dread and yet so humane in its attention to psychological detail — those subtle doubts and delusions upon which relationships are built — that I could not look away. It raises the quiet inadequacies of ordinary life to the level of grand tragedy.’
Miles Allinson, author of Fever of Animals
‘The Fogging is disquieting, compelling, and scrupulously observed, exploring themes of mental illness, interconnectedness, and selfhood. Horton observes his characters with a clear and compassionate eye, rendering his protagonist’s utter humanity and chronic isolation with stark tenderness and an honesty that moves.’
Laura McPhee-Browne, author of Cherry Beach
Available Editions
| EDITION | Ebook |
| ISBN | 9781925938524 |
| PRICE | $31.99 (USD) |
| PAGES | 224 |
Links
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Tim D, Reviewer
I wish to thank Luke Horton, Scribe UK and NetGalley for the advanced copy of The Fogging in exchange for an honest review.
The Indonesian setting in the synopsis of this book piqued my curiosity; it is largely set in Bali in the tourist resort towns of Sanur and Ubud. The protagonist Tom is on a holiday with his partner Clara, Tom suffers from debilitating anxiety, a long term illness exacerbated by turbulence on the flight. Tom and Clara form a friendship with a couple and their son, exchanging perceptions of the shared experience. As Tom tries to relax he reflects on his academic career and on past travel with Clara. Tom describes an extended trip through Asia and Europe where they worked as willing workers on organic farms. The reflections examine the interpersonal relationships formed throughout his life and how mental illness impacted those relationships.
Luke Horton has written an impressive debut, his characters are expertly drawn, his descriptive writing is outstanding. Peggy Frew describes this novel as “Unsettling and dreamlike… humorous and yet lingeringly sad.” Widely praised by contemporaries, The Fogging is an excellent read, it is wonderful to find another talented Australian writer, recommend.
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