Carys Davies tackles communication, isolation and the Scottish Clearances in 'Clear'

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4.2 • 671 Ratings

🗓️ 27 June 2024

⏱️ 9 minutes

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Summary

In the 1840s, a Scottish minister named John Ferguson accepts the task of traveling to a remote island to evict Ivar, the only man who lives there. When Reverend Ferguson falls off a cliff, Ivar brings him back to life — and the two find a common understanding even as they realize they don't speak the same language. That's the basis of Carys Davies' new novel, Clear. In today's episode, NPR's Scott Simon asks the author about how she discovered a real-life extinct language called Norn, and how the historic Highland Clearances of Scotland inspired the events of the book.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbaugh. Before we get into today show,
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0:33.6	You can find out more at plus.npr.org slash book of the day. All right, on to today's show.
0:39.5	Communicating across language barriers is a difficult thing. But when it happens, when two people
0:45.4	who don't speak the same language can really reach a point of communication, that's a beautiful
0:51.5	thing. In Caris Davies' novel, Clear,, an 1800 Scottish reverend heads to a remote island and encounters the last man who speaks Norn,
1:00.5	a real-life extinct language that Davies came across in a library one night.
1:05.5	About halfway through this interview with NPR Scott Simon, Davies reads an excerpt that's part English and part Norn.
1:11.4	And it's fascinating how I almost feel like I get what she's saying, even if I don't
1:16.0	understand most of it. That's after the break.
1:19.9	In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.
1:24.5	Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors on our new show,
1:30.0	Sources and Methods. NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people,
1:34.8	helping you understand why distant events matter here at home.
1:38.4	Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
1:43.8	The Reverend John Ferguson has broken away from the Church of Scotland to help found a new faith
1:49.2	in 1843, but he needs to keep body and soul together for himself and his wife, Mary Ferguson.
1:57.4	So he agrees to take on what we'd now call a gig, to sail to a small island to tell its lone inhabitant that he's being evicted.
	...

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