It was great to see another great aussie author. This book was a bit strange to say the least. The blurb makes it sound like its going to be a thriller but I didnt feel like it was . I still enjoyed it and couldnt put it down. I think it was because I couldnt really connect with the main character.

The premise of this novel caught my interest, but I'm afraid to say it wasn't as good as I'd hoped.

The main issue I had was with the lack of quotation marks. This made it quite confusing, and I really struggled to keep track at some points.

Besides that, I think the actual story was told well, and it had a valuable insight on anxiety and the deterioration of relationships.

**3.5 stars**
Tom and Clara have their first proper holiday in 10 years to Bali, with the heat, the people and the noise. They meet Madelaine, Jeremy and their young son Oscar and suddenly Clara is happy to be be around them but all Tom wants is to relax. He needs time and peace and he’s not sure if his panic attacks from his state of mind or the heat.Things seem to be okay until the routine ‘fogging’ of the area happens.

I’m not sure I enjoyed this type of narration and no quotation marks. Told entirely by Tom, it took me a while to get into his head.
Through the story Tom reminisces about their past overseas travels and the experiences they had. Slowly in the present day, his own anxieties are coming to the fore and his relationship with Clara is disintegrating. There’s a lot of analysing on Tom’s perspective of his and Clara’s relationship over the years and frankly I wasn’t sure where it was all going.
We never get to know Clara at all. It’s all Tom’s thoughts, memories and musings.
It wasn’t a novel that grabbed me but I was interested enough to follow through. I must admit never having been to Bali but the descriptions of the area, heat and sweat was quite evocative.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy to read.

Sent from my iPad

I wish to thank Luke Horton, Scribe UK and NetGalley for the advanced copy of The Fogging in exchange for an honest review.

The Indonesian setting in the synopsis of this book piqued my curiosity; it is largely set in Bali in the tourist resort towns of Sanur and Ubud. The protagonist Tom is on a holiday with his partner Clara, Tom suffers from debilitating anxiety, a long term illness exacerbated by turbulence on the flight. Tom and Clara form a friendship with a couple and their son, exchanging perceptions of the shared experience. As Tom tries to relax he reflects on his academic career and on past travel with Clara. Tom describes an extended trip through Asia and Europe where they worked as willing workers on organic farms. The reflections examine the interpersonal relationships formed throughout his life and how mental illness impacted those relationships.

Luke Horton has written an impressive debut, his characters are expertly drawn, his descriptive writing is outstanding. Peggy Frew describes this novel as “Unsettling and dreamlike… humorous and yet lingeringly sad.” Widely praised by contemporaries, The Fogging is an excellent read, it is wonderful to find another talented Australian writer, recommend.