Gliff

Gliff
AuthorAli Smith
PublisherHamish Hamilton
Publication date31 October 2024
Pages274
ISBN978-0-241-66557-2
Followed byGlyph 

Gliff is a 2024 dystopian novel by Scottish author Ali Smith. It was shortlisted for the 2024 Highland Book Prize. The follow-up, Glyph, was published in 2026.

Publication

The novel began as a short story written in August 2023; an anthology commission to write something "tangentially Kafkaesque".Gliff was published by Hamish Hamilton on 31 October 2024 in the UK, and on 4 February 2025 by Pantheon in the US.

Glyph, a standalone novel which "tell[s] a story hidden in [Gliff]" was published in 2026.

Critical reception

Gliff was largely received positively by critics. In her review for The Guardian, Paraic O’Donnell praised Smith's "sportive wordplay", and Hamilton Cain of The Washington Post called the book a "tricksy masterwork". Writing for The New York Times, A.O. Scott commended Smith's prose, although noted that Gliff wasn't as "ablaze with formal daring" as her previous works. In his review for The Times, John Self criticised the novel's binary view of morality and lack of complex antagonists. Francesca Peacock of The Spectator, whilst applauding Smith's "characteristic linguistic experimentation", felt the novel had some serious issues, including the unexplained time skips and unrealised emotional pull.

The novel was shortlisted for the 2024 Highland Book Prize, the 2025 Gordon Bowker Volcano Prize and won the 2026 Dublin Literary Award.

References

  1. ↑ Begley, Adam (2025-02-04). "A Novelist Who Looks Into the Dark". The Atlantic. ISSN 2151-9463. Retrieved 2026-04-07.
  2. 1 2 Williams, Holly (2024-10-19). "Gliff by Ali Smith is a clever novel - but not a moving one". The i Paper. Retrieved 2026-04-07.
  3. ↑ Goddard, Keiran (27 January 2026). "Glyph by Ali Smith review – bearing witness to the war in Gaza". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
  4. 1 2 Scott, A. O. (2025-02-04). "Children on the Run From a Dystopian Nightmare". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-04-07.
  5. ↑ Gilmartin, Sarah. "Gliff by Ali Smith: Part allegory, part dystopian fiction, altogether thrilling". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2026-04-07.
  6. 1 2 O’Donnell, Paraic (2024-11-02). "Gliff by Ali Smith review – reading the signs of crisis". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2026-04-07.
  7. 1 2 Cain, Hamilton (2025-03-02). "Ali Smith delivers another masterwork". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2025-08-04.
  8. ↑ Self, John (2024-11-02). "Gliff by Ali Smith review — are you an 'immortal' or an 'unverifiable'?". The Times. Retrieved 2026-04-07.
  9. ↑ Peacock, Francesca (2024-10-29). "Waifs and strays: Gliff, by Ali Smith, reviewed". The Spectator. Retrieved 2026-04-07.
  10. ↑ "2024 Shortlist". The Highland Book Prize | Duais Leabhair na Gàidhealtachd. Retrieved 2026-04-07.
  11. ↑ "Gordon Bowker Volcano Prize". The Society of Authors. Retrieved 2026-04-19.
  12. ↑ . Dublin Literary Award, June 5, 2026.