Carys Davies wins the Ondaatje prize for Clear, a ‘masterpiece of exquisite, craggy detail’

Carys Davies, the Welsh novelist, has won this year’s Ondaatje prize for her evocative portrayal of place and its profound impact on human connection. Her novel, set in a Scottish island during the Highland Clearances, follows two men as they forge an unlikely bond, drawing from Jakob Jakobsen’s dictionary of Shetland language to craft this deeply moving story. Davies emphasized that languages are living threads of culture, expressing her delight in recognizing how we experience and preserve our world through words.