Clearing

Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice, A humble and a contrite heart. Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet, Lest we forget—lest we forget. ‘Recessional’ - Rudyard Kipling, 1897.

Tom needs to forget, but wants to hedge his bets. To that end, and despite his lack of faith, he seeks out Mark, a catholic priest.

An unlikely bond develops between the two men - a relationship that challenges and tests them both, as it forces them to question their respective beliefs. Until one of them has his mind changed in the cruelest and most brutal way.

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Buy at Amazon.co.uk

Buy at Amazon.com

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Author Notes

Ah, yes, I remember this one! Nearly two years after publishing 'The Book Burner' I returned with a new novel. I fancied writing a radio play. That was how ‘Clearing’ came about. Eschewing narration, dialogue was all I had to work with. Thus, it contains a lot of chatter!

Within that framework, I set two fairly disparate characters against one another. There’s very little distraction, outside of the two of them and their conversations in a ‘clearing’ near a church.

I’m a Graham Greene fan, and so wanted to write a ‘Catholic Novel’ of sorts. ‘Brighton Rock’ and ‘The End Of The Affair’ are both exceptional examples, in my view. That was certainly a factor, if not a direct influence, and there’s no direct comparison.

Neither Mark (a priest) or Tom (a troubled younger man), are particularly autobiographical. As the author, not being able to side with either maintained an edge to their interactions, I think. At least, that was the aim.

Both men have their demons, and they come to the fore the more time they spend together. It builds and builds, until it blows up. At its heart, it’s a book about limits; about how far we’re prepared to go, and what it takes to win someone over. It’s about having a clear conscience, erasing memories, and clearing up injustice.

Readers should pay attention to capitalisation.

I’m glad I wrote it.

Reviews

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A fascinating book about the power of friendship

"...“Clearing” is another intense Andy Bracken masterpiece. The story of a friendship between Tom and Mark (a priest). Tom is a very special person, with a secret story to tell, and so is Mark, a non-conventional priest who’ll change Tom’s live with his capacity for listening and for fighting for his believes.

I buy many books and music from Amazon. But I write very few reviews. I wrote this one (and also other’s for the other books of the same writer I recently read) because it was an important book for me. It changed something and it made me think. I hope it does the same thing to other potential readers. Great writing, great characters, amazing story...what more can you ask?"