An incredible author who I feel I could not do justice to either when reading in my own unintellectual way or when attempting to review afterwards. With a similar feel to their Seasonal Quarter, Smith has produced a masterpiece in dystopian social commentary which exemplifies today’s political and socioeconomic backdrop. Superb.
My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own unbiased opinion.

"Gliff" in Scots is "a glimpse" - and also many other things, the word for everything - and that's exactly what we get here. Two siblings are left to fend for themselves in a near-future dystopia. We don't know the mechanics of this system, only that they are outside of it and unsure what it all means. They acquire a horse, they meet a band of "unverifiables" that help them in a moment of need. This is a fairy tale of a book, where language is used to expand the world around them, not collapse it as The State wants - stories prevail, words are collected and turned over. There's a strong 1984 or Brave New World vibe but understood from a kid's perspective. They don't see all or understand all. What they do see is filtered through their limited frames of reference. None of it makes sense but their tie to one another. I'm eager to read the companion novel out next year to see what happens to these siblings in this cruel world.

Seeing all these other great reviews I think I’m too dumb for this book. Started out as an interesting dystopian story about two sisters trying to survive, got very weird and I didn’t know what was going on. The underlying message was about searching for meaning in life, and what makes you, you. But other than that I dunno what happened. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for this arc.

Gliff is an eerie near-future dystopian novel with a level of mystery on par with Kafka's The Castle.

The story follows siblings Briar and Rose who are forced to fend for themselves and make their own sense of the "brave new world" in order to survive. They share a close bond and the wordplay they engage in was one of my favourite features of the novel. Sadly, the siblings are torn apart and after an uncertain amount of time has passed, Briar has to piece together what happened to Rose.

In comparison to many of Smith's previous novels, Gliff is on the surface perhaps a more accessible work and I will enjoy re-reading to discover some of the more complex details which I have no doubt are lurking in the text but which I failed to spot in the first read.

It's my first Ali Smith and I enjoyed the writing but was a bit disappointed with the rest. We follow two siblings, Rose and Briar, in some near future dystopian world, as they have been left to fend for themselves. They belong to the UVs, Unverifiables, and it isn't completely clear what that entails but not being online seems to be the main criteria. I liked the atmosphere but wished there had been more about this world; I liked the 1984 vibes through the eyes of two children, I liked the tone. I just felt the plot was a bit too hazy and it took me a while to fet into it, and I kept waiting for a bit more, and that bit more never came. I'll probably still read her other books as I really liked the writing, I just hope that the others have a bit more of a plot.

I was really drawn into the story and desperately worried for poor Briar (the protagonist). The story seems to be set in a near dystopian future where people or buildings or cars that are inhabited by those who don't conform have a red ring painted around them and are then demolished and the inhabitants taken away. Briar and her sister find their house surrounded by the red paint but escape and later their camper van has the same fate. The children are in the care of their mother's boyfriend, but their mother has gone to nurse her ailing sister and take on her work in a resort hotel at a far distance. The children find themselves alone in a strange house with some money, tinned food and told not to go outside by their mother's friend as he goes off to look for her. Of course, being young children they do go outside into the scary repressive world. I have to say I didn't really like the Quartet books but loved this. It seemed to end suddenly, so I was really happy to find out a sequel is in the works. Very interresting.

I tend to just have one book a year which I read in a day and Gliff is the book of 2024! I couldn’t put it down. Ali Smith is such a clever writer, and the story here captured me from the start and held me to the end. I am thrilled to see this is book one of a Duology - can’t wait to read more of this captivating story.

I really enjoyed this, it felt somewhat less abstract that some of Smith's previous novels. Immaculately written and thought provoking - I would definitely recommend and am impatiently awaiting her next work already.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review

I’m a long time Ali Smith fan and this is one of her better novels - comes with the ever lovely weirdness of an Ali Smith book but with a bit more of a clear plot that’s made necessary for the world building needed for a dystopian setting. Two siblings are left to fend for themselves in a near-future dystopian world not far from our own, in which centralised data collection about each citizen is collected by the government and those who refuse or otherwise disobey become unverifiables, forced into hard labour. Really enjoyed it and I’m looking forward to the companion novel Glyph which I hope will make this a more rounded story and provide more resolution.

Set in a dystopian near future, two children are left to fend for thenselves. Their mother has brought them up without devices and think for themselves, which puts them at odds with the rest of society. She is now working in a hotel, having transgressed in this digital society and her two children have been left along by her partner, who is going to find them help. They navigate the world as best they can, avoiding the dangers of being recorded, and befriending a horse they name Gliff.
This is a short novel, musing on words and language, the digital and analogue world, and how to retain our humanity and live in a quantified, digital world that is increasingly restrictive. A good and thought-provoking read.

A very thought-provoking dystopian novel set in Britain, Ali Smith has done it again. Excited for the second instalment of this duology.

Ali Smith I love you! Gliff is the first book in a duology and it’s deliciously weird. Two children, Bri & Rose come home from a trip to find their house surrounded by a circle of red paint. Their mum’s partner Leif quickly takes them away in a campervan. Overnight it too is surrounded by red paint. The siblings find themselves alone while Leif goes to get their mum.

This is all told from Bri’s perspective and has little glimpses into the future, where we ultimately end up. It is dark & dystopian but this is buoyed by the prose which is as beautiful as ever. Normally I savour an Ali Smith book but I raced through this because the plot was so engaging.

I was so utterly compelled by this and I cannot wait for the second part next year.

I used to love Ali Smith but sadly I think her style is no longer for me. I didn’t enjoy the last series of 4 seasons books and only really enjoyed the beginning of this.

Ali Smith has a way with words on a singular, a sentence and a story level that is unmatched. Though I've not read Brave New World, which many reviewers have highlighted Gliff is in conversation with, my understanding of the complex themes was not diminished. The story is compelling if a little confusing, but in a way that makes you really think about nature and ownership, data and categorisation. Apparently, there might be a second instalment, which would mitigate the openness/unresolved ending.

I love being invited into the world Ali Smith creates. Even though all her books are quite different to each other, they clearly inhabit the same imagined, almost real world where you think you know how things go until she wrong foots you and you very much don't. Gliff feels like a deep dive into this world. A future dystopia that we can almost touch from the world we inhabit now. Nowhere is explicitly 'here' but it all feels so familiar. Smith explores themes she has long been interested in and some she is increasingly angry about, the mutability of borders and yet the fierce desire to police and regulate them is both explicit in the movements of the characters through this book but also implicit in the shifting identities and genders of some of the characters. This is dystopian but also anchored in folklore and conscious of how and why myths are created. This is the first book in a duology I believe and I cannot wait to find out what happens next.

I love Ali Smith and have read most of her work. I love the Seasonal Quartet, but for some reason I didn't love this book. As ever her writing and storytelling are beautiful, witty and clever, but I just didn't understand what was going on. Maybe it's me? maybe I need to re read at some point. However it still gets a 3 star ⭐ from me as Ali Smith is one of the best writers of our time.

dystopian novel that is difficult to understand in places. It's about two children who struggle to live outside a system that they don't think they fit into.

Like most of Ali Smith’s books I will need to reread her new novel ‘Gliff’. The novel covers so many themes that I will inevitable have missed a few. For now though I can say that I loved Smiths use of language, I also loved the two main characters. I have yet to decide the significance of the horse. This is a thought provoking novel that serves as a warning to us ll.

I must admit, I was a little wary of this book. The only prior knowledge I have of Smiths work is 'Autumn' which, upon completion, I realised just wasn't a book that was written for me. I was enamoured enough by her writing and stylistic choices in the first of the seasons quarter, that I knew I wanted to try again before writing off her works as something beautifully written, but unable to connect with me. How glad I am to have made that decision.

Gliff is a captivating little book. Enigmatic and aloof, it sets itself in a dystopian future - though survival epic it is not. Like many of her works, Gliff is an ode to humanity, our differences and our similarities. It reads as an essay on identity and meaning, pushing back on prescriptive categorising of individuals and exploring what it means to simply exist.

Gliff follows two children abandoned in this 'uncertain near-future', which we experience through the eyes of Briar, the eldest of the two siblings. Smiths stream of consciousness prose lends itself beautifully to this narrative, at once capturing the naïve wonder of young children exploring the world and how they belong to it, as it belongs to them, whilst also highlighting the nonsense of Adults clamouring to classify and rank human attributes. Accordingly, the book doesn't delve into the intricacies of this 'new world' and it's rules and regulations. 'The State' remains a vague, faceless, omnipresent boogeyman, that lurks at the edge of every page. Largely, the book focuses instead on how these two children and the people around them struggle to find a sense of self in a world that seems eager to deny individuality.

I felt as though in this novel, all of Smith's beautiful wordplay, her enigmatic writing style and astute observation on human behaviour, married beautifully with the plot, which is perhaps what I felt was missing from Autumn. This book had much more substance, more footholds to grip as you get swept along in the meandering narrative. This book, was indeed written for me and I cannot wait to read it's sequel.

If you’re looking for a thought-provoking, immersive read that blends dystopian themes with deeply personal storytelling, Gliff is a must-read. And like me, you’ll likely find yourself counting down the days until Glyph is released, eager to see how the story unfolds.

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