The Fogging

Luke Horton

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English

Scribe Publications
02 July 2020

Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945); Bargains; Australian Fiction

ABBEY'S BOOKSELLER PICK ----- The Fogging was a bright spot in my reading, taking me inside a couple’s relationship. Clara & Tom are in Bali (remember holidays?) and Tom’s battle with anxiety has resurfaced. Then the fogging happens. No - it’s not a swing into horror. The fogging is the smoke/pesticide fumigation done on resort grounds and it provokes alarm in Clara & her new holiday friend Madeleine leading to relationship trouble between Tom & Clara. The reader is brought in close to Tom's viewpoint and the writing is so sure-footed - a pleasure to read. Craig Kirchner

A compelling tale of the slow disintegration of a relationship and the unravelling of a man.

Tom and Clara are two struggling academics in their mid-thirties, who decide to take their first holiday in ten years. On the flight over to Indonesia, Tom experiences a debilitating panic attack, something he hasn't had in a long time, which he keeps hidden from Clara. At the resort, they meet Madeleine, a charismatic French woman, her Australian partner, Jeremy, and five-year-old son, Ollie, and the two couples strike up an easy friendship. The holiday starts to look up, even to Tom, who is struggling to get out of his own head. But when Clara and Madeleine become trapped in the maze-like grounds of the hotel during 'the fogging' - a routine spraying of pesticide - the dynamics suddenly shift between Tom and Clara, and the atmosphere of the holiday darkens.

Told with equal parts compassion and irony, and brimming with observations that charm, illuminate, and devastate, The Fogging dives deep into what it means to be strong when your foundation is built on sand.

'Claustrophobic and vertiginous ... an unshrinking and skilfully drawn portrait of a decaying relationship. In restrained prose, Horton illuminates the darker edges of masculinity. His is a frequency finely tuned to silences, gaps of language and meaning, things left unsaid - and their cumulative weight. Like a brewing storm on an oppressive summer day, The Fogging is quiet but assured, building towards the thunderclap of its final pages.' -Jennifer Down, author of Our Magic Hour 'The Fogging is disquieting, compelling, and scrupulously observed, exploring themes of mental illness, interconnectedness, and selfhood. Horton observes his characters with a clear and compassionate eye, rendering his protagonist's utter humanity and chronic isolation with stark tenderness and an honesty that moves.' -Laura McPhee-Browne, author of Cherry Beach 'Luke Horton's writing is sustained, accomplished, and full of insight. The Fogging is haunting in its familiarity, his characters pervasive in their unwillingness to truly connect, with one another and with themselves.' -Anna Krien, author of Night Games and Act of Grace

By: Luke Horton
Imprint: Scribe Publications
Country of Publication: Australia
Dimensions: Height: 233mm, Width: 154mm, Spine: 14mm
Weight: 302g
ISBN: 9781925849592
ISBN 10: 1925849597
Pages: 240
Publication Date: 02 July 2020
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Luke Horton is a writer and editor from Melbourne. The Fogging is his debut novel, and was highly commended for the Victorian Premier's Award for an Unpublished Manuscript in 2019. His writing has appeared in various publications, and he is the editor of The Lifted Brow Review of Books.