{"product_id":"clear-9781668030660","title":"Clear","description":"\u003cb\u003e\"Tender, riveting, and inventive is \u003ci\u003eClear\u003c\/i\u003e, the newest offering and masterpiece from the brilliant Carys Davies. It will take your breath away...What a thrill.\" --Sarah Jessica Parker\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA\u003ci\u003e New York Times Book Review \u003c\/i\u003eTop 10 Historical Fiction Book of 2024 \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA \u003ci\u003eVogue\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e, NPR, \u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Globe and Mail \u003c\/i\u003e(Toronto) Best Book of the Year \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWinner of the 2024 Bookmark Festival Book of Year\u003cbr\u003e Finalist for the Libby Book of the Year in Historical Fiction\u003cbr\u003e Shortlisted for the 2024 Books Are My Bag Award, the Historical Writers' Association Gold Crown Award, and the Saltire Society Literary Award\u003cbr\u003e Longlisted for Blackwell's Book of the Year, the Highland Book Prize, and the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA \"daring and necessary...sophisticated and playful\" (\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e) novel from an award-winning writer, \u003ci\u003eClear \u003c\/i\u003eis the story of a minister dispatched to a remote island to \"clear\" its last remaining inhabitant--an unforgettable tale of resilience, change, and hope. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eJohn, 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eShortly 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. \"\u003ci\u003eClear \u003c\/i\u003echronicles the surprising bond that develops between these two men...pack[ing] a great deal of power into a compact tale\" (\u003ci\u003eThe Wall Street Journal\u003c\/i\u003e) about connection, home, and hope--in which John begins to learn Ivar's language, and Ivar sees himself reflected through the eyes of another person for the first time in decades. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eUnfolding during the final stages of the infamous Scottish Clearances--a period of the 19th century which saw whole communities of the rural poor driven off the land in a relentless program of forced evictions--this singular novel explores what binds us together in the face of insurmountable difference, the way history shapes our deepest convictions, and how the human spirit can endure despite all odds. Moving and unpredictable, \"a love letter to the scorching power of language\" (\u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e), \u003ci\u003eClear\u003c\/i\u003e is \"a jewel of a novel\" (\u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e)--a profound and unforgettable read.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eCarys Davies's debut novel \u003ci\u003eWest\u003c\/i\u003e was shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize, runner-up for the Society of Authors' McKitterick Prize, and winner of the Wales Book of the Year for Fiction. She is also the author of \u003ci\u003eThe Mission House\u003c\/i\u003e, which was \u003ci\u003eThe Sunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e (London) 2020 Novel of the Year, and two collections of short stories, \u003ci\u003eSome New Ambush\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Redemption of Galen Pike\u003c\/i\u003e, which won the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award and the Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize. Her other awards include the Royal Society of Literature's V.S. Pritchett Prize, the Society of Authors' Olive Cook Short Story Award, and a Cullman Fellowship at the New York Public Library. Born in Wales, she lived and worked for twelve years in New York and Chicago, and now lives in Edinburgh. \u003ci\u003eClear\u003c\/i\u003e is her most recent novel.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Scribner Book Company","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50575372189970,"sku":"9781668030660","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_b28a1c08-e144-4bf6-88f3-16ae7f0d13b4.jpg?v=1744273822","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/clear-9781668030660","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}