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Haunting, gripping, a visceral portrayal of movement and mountains and the outdoors and the power and chaos of our own minds. Having lost my mum and dad at a relatively young age, I can certainly relate to the feelings in this book, and the feelings grief brings. There are interesting reflections on man’s interaction and alienation from the natural world, alienation from self and others. I just about stuck with it, and was ultimately disappointed by it, though by its experimental nature I can respect Carse's boldness. A truly unique book, like nothing I’ve ever read before … a thoughtful and beautifully written story, which is simultaneously gripping.
We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. A deeply haunting book … The Scottish Highlands have never felt more wild or alive than they do in this … immensely important novel. This book is a powerful story of processing grief, set in a mountainous, stormy landscape which is also very much part of the story. The low rating indicates to me that it has at least done something unique and different and isn’t just a “mediocre people-pleaser”. The narrator has now traced their father to this cottage – he’s not there himself, but the place is full of papers and maps written and drawn by his hand.Thoughtful, sharp, and deeply considered use of language that is both utterly captivating, and pulls off the trick of being both intense yet surprisingly accessible. I have just been focusing on enjoying it actually, because I have a terrible habit of overdoing it or getting injured or just kind of being a bit over enthusiastic with training too hard. There was something there about the physicality of running, things working, that was a really important way for me of discussing one mental health challenge. Chris is a passionate advocate for mental health awareness and was diagnosed as autistic at the age of 40. The bleak and inhospitable nature around her creates a stark background for our unnamed protagonists grief and guilt over her double loss; the loss of someone missing without resolve, and the loss of someone certainly gone for good.
Unfortunately, it conveyed that in the first 40 pages or so, and the rest of the story did little but take away from its strength. I always think an 800m race feels like a great idea until about 500m, then you are hanging on for dear life. I’m always impressed when the written word evokes strong feelings and emotions; perhaps made easier by the similarities between it’s story and mine.In short: a bleak, disjointed “wandering” of text, that has a single message and “feeling” to convey. So the last couple of years I’ve actually run without a watch, just getting out and enjoying it and that’s actually been fantastic. It's a shame because I really did love the pacing and writing style and the level of structured confusion and tension the author was able to create. Fray is an exceptional and haunting debut, very reminiscent of the work of Max Porter … I absolutely loved it.
Usually when a novel is set in remote mountains such as the Highlands the backdrop is a key part of the story. This is helpful, otherwise it would sometimes be difficult to know who was writing what, for the narrator himself, with a history of poor mental health, is also – understandably – confused, disturbed, at a loss. There is a pace to this which the narrator (the son) can accelerate and decelerate to keep the reader guessing and turning the pages. It reads a bit like a radio play with three different voices, though for one of the voices I still have no idea who was speaking.In reality, the experience is often very much like the one I had with actual marmite: I hate it, and now understand why others do to. Chris was diagnosed as autistic at the age of 40 and is a passionate advocate for mental health awareness. Chris Carse Wilson is an author and lifelong runner who uses exercise and nature to manage his mental health.
Fray can be seen as an active process of working through its narrator’s deep feelings – and there’s cause to wonder how much of what’s narrated is happening in the external world, and how much in the narrator’s mind.
On a whim, perhaps due to some sort of breakdown, his father walks out after the death of his wife, and disappears.
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