The small town was everything to Clarko. However, as time rolled by, the only thing he would be sure of was that nothing was forever.
An anecdotal memory of an Irish childhood, a fireside-style narrative recalling boyhood fantasies and nightmares, of school days, being kissed by one teacher, pinned to the wall and threatened by another, on being hit by a boiled sweet thrown from the back of a lorry carrying Santa Claus and then meeting the man himself for the first time hidden away in a book shop. The picture-postcard existence finally peels away when tragedy and violence destroy everything forever. Like the scent of an old photograph or a memory roused by an old song on the radio, Clear is the Water recalls the story of Clarko, a short, ginger-haired, freckled, shy boy. Growing up in a small, grey town in Ireland in the 70's, this book charts the life of a boy experiencing his first love, his early school days, his passion for films, his joys and ultimately, the intensity of the death of a loved one. Twice. Written in the first person, jumping back and forth in time, each chapter illustrates a moment, building up a personal collection of memories, reminding the reader of a time, perhaps in their own childhood, of sights, sounds and sensibilities that seem long gone.