Clear: A Crowd-Pleaser

 

 

 

Clear (2024)

By Carys Davies

Scribner, 193 pages

★★★ ½

 

Clear has been a surprise hit among readers. Carys Davies, best known as a short story writer, is Welsh, but her novel is about a small Scottish island (probably in the Shetlands) about two characters who, at first, can’t communicate. The title can be taken in several metaphorical ways, but mostly references the Highland (and Islands) Clearances.

 

History accords more ink to the Irish potato famine, which is understandable given that over a half million people died and another several million were forced to emigrate. Scotland’s Highland Clearances were, though, unspeakably cruel. The battle for the Scottish throne convulsed Scotland during the 18^th century. In 1707, Scotland (and Ireland) were officially incorporated into Great Britain, which theoretically solved a centuries-old dispute. In reality, Scots in the Highlands and Islands remained loyal to the Stuart dynasty, which was Catholic. The defeat of the Jacobites* at the 1746 Battle of Culloden forcibly solidified a Protestant Great Britain and imposed a harsh crackdown in Scotland (with hangings and deportations).

 

As if that wasn’t bad enough, the “lairds” (lords) who controlled the land and clans were often English or loyalists. During the early Industrial Revolution lairds saw economic opportunity in throwing rent-paying crofters (farmers) off the land, burning their homes, and converting the fields to sheep grazing for the growing textile industry. At least 70,000–some sources say closer to 200,000–were forced to emigrate. Collectively these are called the Clearances (1750-1860).

 

Clear takes place toward the end of the Clearances, probably around 1846 during Scotland’s own potato famine. The remote Orkneys and Shetlands were among the last places for evictions. The Rev. John Ferguson is approached by an agent for a laird to sail north and dislodge the last resident from his island home. John is opposed to this but is so poor that when his wife Mary lost her front teeth, they were replaced by vulcanized rubber to save money. John is a man of principle, but because he is a Free Church** minister opposed to the Church of Scotland, he is in a doubly precarious situation.

 

Over Mary’s objection he sails north; she to follow later. John arrives and promptly falls off a cliff into the raging surf below. At some time later, Ivar spies debris floating in the water and intends to salvage it. There is also a body inside a “swimming belt” (life preserver), which to his surprise is barely alive. Ivar carries the man and random items to his cottage. The man is insensible so Ivar pokes around in his belongings and finds a picture of Mary. He hides it and falls in love with Mary’s image.

 

If you think you know where this is going, you’re probably wrong. John will slowly regain his wits but he and Ivar can’t understand each other for some time as Ivar only speaks Norn, which is neither Celtic nor English, rather a dying Germanic/Viking tongue whose last native speaker will die in 1850. Imagine trying to teach each other enough vocabulary to clear up why Ivar has Mary’s picture inside his shirt. Clear ultimately becomes a tale of self-discovery, one’s true nature, and an indirect critique of the Clearances and religious zealotry. What would be the harm of leaving Ivar alone with his goat, a blind cow, a small boat, and a hidden teapot?

 

Davies claims the island is fictional and she doesn’t identify its model.*** Clear is a quick read that many have found deeply moving. For me, the book’s ending is too abrupt and opaque. To nitpick, the big Comrie earthquake alluded to in the novel occurred in 1893, but since Comrie is considered the earthquake center of Scotland, Davies might have extrapolated for effect.

 

Rob Weir

 

* Jacobite is Latin for follower of James Stuart, whose Catholic followers remained loyal to the deposed James VII.

 

**The Free Church of Scotland grew out of the 1843 Great Disruption. In simplest terms, it was an argument over whether church ministers should be chosen by Parliament (Church of Scotland) or by parishioners (Free Church). Both are Presbyterians and both are found across Scotland. These days, though, more than half of Scots claim no religious affiliation.

 

*** There are numerous sparsely populated islands in both the Shetlands and Orkney and many have no residents. One of my favorites, the Isle of Hoy (Orkney) has 419 people, less than half of its 1800 population.