Book of the Week: GLIFF by Ali Smith
‘O brave new world, that has such people in't.’
Gliff is a novel about how we make meaning and how we are made meaningless. With a nod to the traditions of dystopian fiction, a glance at the Kafkaesque, and a new take on the notion of classic, it's a moving and electrifying read, a vital and prescient tale of the versatility and variety deep-rooted in language, in nature and in human nature.
Briar and Rose are left to fend for themselves when the machine leaves a red line around their house. Their mother is working at the hotel and Leif’s in charge, until he leaves them. There is a house empty, but safe. There are horses, and for Rose a particular horse, Gliff. There are the verifibles and the undesirables. To be one of the latter is dangerous, and eventually the red line will come for you, unless…
Ali Smith weaves myth and story, enjoys language like no other writer, and brings charcaters into your mind, and heart, who won’t leave you. Sharp with urgency and as playful as a dance, Gliff is a piece of genius.
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