In a world of increasing digital state surveillance, this is a powerful hope.
Wait, how do you believe in a car chase? That there is hope of escape. To call fire-eyed jinn, the power of words and code, desert car chases, and revolution “mundane” would certainly be wrong, but Wilson treats them as part of the world, and this world’s got them all. Although many may see it as such, this belief is not an exotic dressing for the novel, but a part of the world. I cannot help but compare the book to Neil Gaiman’s novel, American Gods both require the protagonist and the reader to believe, and belief opens the doors to worlds unseen. This book is an adventure, a veritable tour de mystical force. When Alif discovers The Thousand and One Days, the secret book of the jinn, which both he and the Hand suspect may unleash a new level of information technology, the stakes are raised and Alif must struggle for life or death, aided by forces seen and unseen. Then it turns out his lover’s new fiancé is the head of State security, and his henchmen come after Alif, driving him underground.
The aristocratic woman Alif loves has jilted him for a prince chosen by her parents, and his computer has just been breached by the State’s electronic security force, putting his clients and his own neck on the line.
He goes by Alif-the first letter of the Arabic alphabet, and a convenient handle to hide behind. In an unnamed Middle Eastern security state, a young Arab-Indian hacker shields his clients-dissidents, outlaws, Islamists, and other watched groups-from surveillance and tries to stay out of trouble. On Sunday, I fell asleep with the book on my pillow. Willow Wilson’s latest novel, Alif the Unseen, which came out in June 2012. Why can’t I put this book down?” I ask myself, having spent this last week completely engrossed in G. “The semester is coming to a close, and I have a lot of work to do.
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