Gliff

Bookseller recommendation

“There's a lightness and playful punniness to Ali Smith's writing that belies how seriously she takes the endeavor of language. In a near-future Britain that's become a surveillance state and corporatocracy not too far removed from our actual world, Gliff's "unverifiable" narrator and their sister... acquire a horse. In doing so, they tap into a world made of flesh, blood, books, grass, and manure, rather than the shifting boundaries between people and places we've built on algorithms and commerce. A little queer, a bit unsettling, but hopeful and unforgettable. I wish I was still reading Gliff.”

— Timothy • Wild Rumpus Books

Bookseller recommendation

“Stunning. So many layers to this. It’s not just a dystopian novel, or a less male-centered Brave New World, or a fairytale infused sibling story, or a statement on todays technology-addicted world - it is all of these things at once. Perfectly narrated by Eliot Sumner.”

— Kristine • Buttonwood Books and Toys

Bookseller recommendation

“Disorienting, unsettling, dystopian near future, with two precocious children and a kindhearted horse at the center. Ali Smith's language is, as always, striking, and the narrator captures it beautifully. ”

— Victoria • Comma, a bookshop

Bookseller recommendation

“This is my favorite audiobook of the year so far. Eliot Sumner is the perfect narrator. Set in a near dystopian future where a totalitarian government determines whether people are verified or unverified, redlining is not metaphorical, and there are still acts of bravery, kindness and magic. Smith's language is playful and brings joy to what could be a bleak story of two children navigating this harsh world.”

— Charlotte T • Third Place Books

Bookseller recommendation

“Gliff is like The Boxcar Children meets 1984 with a non-binary protagonist and a stampede of horses rumbling throughout. Ali Smith plays with language like a child who can make a toy out of a bit of string or a particularly round stone or anything else they find on the side of the road.”

— Ellis • Page 2 Books

Bookseller recommendation

“Brilliant, well-written, intensely captivating dystopia-although it’s so of our time, she may just have documented Tuesday. Seeing the inexplicable, all too explicable world through Briar’s eyes is an education in really seeing. I highly recommend this tale. ”

— Millie • Cassiopeia Books