'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.' (Publication summary)
'The portrayal of tension is spot on in this book, of particular note is Horton’s rendering of the insidious impacts of anxiety.'
'Novels are uniquely placed to depict the interiority of a person, saving from obsolescence a particular entertainment that is unadulterated crack for some. Luke Horton’s debut, The Fogging, is a study in interiors. Academics Tom and Clara have been together on and off, mostly on, for 14 years. In their mid-30s, they still live in an undergraduate mess of unwashed dishes and piled clothes. Their life together has stagnated and their communication is poor. Narrator Tom suffers from anxiety, and Horton articulates with devastating precision the slow burn of Tom’s panic attacks across pages drenched in sweat.' (Introduction)
'Luke Horton’s tense debut novel asks uncomfortable questions about intimate relationships.'
