Berengaria's Reviews > Clear
Clear
by
by
2.5 stars
*This review is a postcard from Outlier Island* 🌴📨📫
short review for busy readers: nature, nature, nature, nature, religion, marriage, nature, nature, Highland Clearances, religion, nature, nature, language, language, nature, language, religion, language, nature, nature, nature, nature, language, nature, feelings, The End sort of.
in detail:
I don't think Carys Davies is for me. This is the 2nd of her works that I've read and found both highly problematic technically and tedious/huh? as far as storyline goes.
That she's a talented writer is obvious, but as I disagree with almost all of her authorial choices, that talent feels largely squandered to me. And if I were in a devilish mood, I'd accuse her of Grievous Authorial Cowardice on three major counts in this novel.
1. When John has his accident at the beginning of the story, the POV suddenly switches from semi-close 3rd, to omniscient, breaking the 4th wall, before going back into 3rd. Why? Why the sudden pan out at a crucial point in the narrative? Why the sudden shift to an impersonal POV when an up close view would have been far more impactful on the plot?
2. If we are to assume (view spoiler) then why is it only alluded to in highly vague, "if you've been there, you'll know" fuzzy camera focus type of way? Why the coyness?
3. The ending is a non-ending. The conflict is not resolved, nor even faced. It's skirted around, it's looked at...and then bolted away from (view spoiler). The author simply abandons the narrative, walks away, leaving the story problem entirely unresolved. (Bad, bad form.)
All of this points strongly to a general discomfort and avoidance of dealing directly with the plot conflict, of getting really stuck into the topics touched upon.
The politics of the Free Church, the actual horror of the Scottish Clearances, John's innate hypocrisy in so easily taking a job from Lowrie and much more are viewed from a comfy "tea and bird-watching" distance.
Instead of meeting the story full on, we are given characters pondering inconsequential minutia that effectively blinkers out any of these larger conflicts, while being showered with pages and pages of descriptions of nature.
Great descriptions, but they make up the bulk of this novel and I'm not someone who gets chills of delight by reading lists of plants and wildlife or having grass and hills described to me umpteen times while nothing much else happens.
The idea for "Clear" is not bad, neither are the characters nor the plot conflict. But the reticence of Davies to actually engage with her narrative makes the novel into a tedious exercise in nature observation and very little else.
An average 2.5 stars.
*This review is a postcard from Outlier Island* 🌴📨📫
short review for busy readers: nature, nature, nature, nature, religion, marriage, nature, nature, Highland Clearances, religion, nature, nature, language, language, nature, language, religion, language, nature, nature, nature, nature, language, nature, feelings, The End sort of.
in detail:
I don't think Carys Davies is for me. This is the 2nd of her works that I've read and found both highly problematic technically and tedious/huh? as far as storyline goes.
That she's a talented writer is obvious, but as I disagree with almost all of her authorial choices, that talent feels largely squandered to me. And if I were in a devilish mood, I'd accuse her of Grievous Authorial Cowardice on three major counts in this novel.
1. When John has his accident at the beginning of the story, the POV suddenly switches from semi-close 3rd, to omniscient, breaking the 4th wall, before going back into 3rd. Why? Why the sudden pan out at a crucial point in the narrative? Why the sudden shift to an impersonal POV when an up close view would have been far more impactful on the plot?
2. If we are to assume (view spoiler) then why is it only alluded to in highly vague, "if you've been there, you'll know" fuzzy camera focus type of way? Why the coyness?
3. The ending is a non-ending. The conflict is not resolved, nor even faced. It's skirted around, it's looked at...and then bolted away from (view spoiler). The author simply abandons the narrative, walks away, leaving the story problem entirely unresolved. (Bad, bad form.)
All of this points strongly to a general discomfort and avoidance of dealing directly with the plot conflict, of getting really stuck into the topics touched upon.
The politics of the Free Church, the actual horror of the Scottish Clearances, John's innate hypocrisy in so easily taking a job from Lowrie and much more are viewed from a comfy "tea and bird-watching" distance.
Instead of meeting the story full on, we are given characters pondering inconsequential minutia that effectively blinkers out any of these larger conflicts, while being showered with pages and pages of descriptions of nature.
Great descriptions, but they make up the bulk of this novel and I'm not someone who gets chills of delight by reading lists of plants and wildlife or having grass and hills described to me umpteen times while nothing much else happens.
The idea for "Clear" is not bad, neither are the characters nor the plot conflict. But the reticence of Davies to actually engage with her narrative makes the novel into a tedious exercise in nature observation and very little else.
An average 2.5 stars.
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Reading Progress
September 22, 2024
– Shelved
September 23, 2024
–
Started Reading
September 23, 2024
–
56.12%
"Nicely written, far more coherent than "West" (thank goodness) but kinda slow and a little boring."
page
110
September 24, 2024
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-20 of 20 (20 new)
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Tina
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Sep 25, 2024 04:45AM
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Helpful review, B!
Thanks, Tina!😃
Helpful review, B!"
Most readers absolutely love her stuff. I mean, 5 star territory. You might, too! I just can't see it, as technically, it's all over the place and yes, all the nature description....couldn't take that with Victorian novels, can't take that here!
Really? Okay. I can't agree, but I know from your review that this one really spoke to you, which is wonderful. 😃
Didn't enjoy is putting it mildly. Barbara, it made me angry. While writing this review, I realised how enraged I was at the narrative and had to hold back from writing a foaming rant.
I guess there are just some very popular writers I know I shouldn't read because they WILL put me in a rage. Davies goes on the list...although I will try her short stories as the shortness might be better (see: so hopeful!)
Indeed! I originally wanted to sound the Alert, but it didn't fit with the tone of the review, so I left it. But you're right. Very UEA!
I'm still collecting a few of my thoughts (tho have collected enough not to be influenced by your review ;)), and mostly being slow to put stylus to screen ;)
I'm not too surprised you weren't enamoured with it - I wasn't sure either way what your experience would be, but mine was very mixed and so I thought yours might be less than thrilled too.
I didn't pick up on the shifting POV technical stuff like you did, but maybe felt some of it in the way the novella worked and/or didn't.
and yes, for someone who was very descriptive about many many things, some important stuff was so vague!! and I'm very with you on the maybe maybe alluded to sexual relationship between John and Ivar! :eyeroll: grimace:
I'll try and get my review tidy asap ;)
I was going to say, at least it was short! but noticed you're planning to try her even shorter stories in the hope they might be better ;)
this was the first novel by Carys Davies I read, so I've nothing else of hers to go by. but I doubt I'll go out of my way to read more. which is a shame, cos she's got a good Welsh name ;)
Glad you found that amusing! The Outlier Island idea is not original, but I think I'm the only one to routinely mark my...divergent from the norm...reviews that way (plus emojis). 😂