Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson

Alif the Unseen

by G. Willow Wilson

'I will tell you a story, but it comes with a warning; when you hear it, you will become someone else.'


He calls himself Alif - few people know his real name - a young man born in a Middle Eastern city that straddles the ancient and modern worlds. When Alif meets the aristocratic Intisar, he believes he has found love. But their relationship has no future - Intisar is promised to another man and her family's honour must be satisfied. As a remembrance, Intisar sends the heartbroken Alif a mysterious book. Entitled The Thousand and One Days, Alif discovers that this parting gift is a door to another world - a world from a very different time, when old magic was in the ascendant and the djinn walked amongst us.

With the book in his hands, Alif finds himself drawing attention - far too much attention - from both men and djinn. Thus begins an adventure that takes him through the crumbling streets of a once-beautiful city, to uncover the long-forgotten mysteries of the Unseen. Alif is about to become a fugitive in both the corporeal and incorporeal worlds. And he is about to unleash a destructive power that will change everything and everyone - starting with Alif himself.

Reviewed by nannah on

5 of 5 stars

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Wow, this is seriously an epic. It's easily one of the best books I've read, with its dynamic plot, momentum, beautiful character development, and discussion about very relevant issues.

Book content warnings:
harassment
homophobic slurs (really something I could've done without . . . :// )

Alif is a computer hacker who guards people (Islamists, bloggers, activists from Palestine to Pakistan, etc.) from the State and its internet censors. Those caught by the State are thrown in prison. When his computer is breached by the Hand, the head of State security, Alif's life is wrenched into a plot of jinn and danger the sort which could rival any story in The Thousand and One Days.

I'm pretty much in awe of G. Willow Wilson at the moment. She's created such a beautiful world reflecting our own, in an "unnamed Middle-Eastern secretary state". There's class tension, racial tension, religious tension, etc. She handles them masterfully, blending them into the plot seamlessly without stopping to lecture or talk down to her readers (although there are 100+ memorable and inspiring quotes threaded in here).

I'm not well acquainted with this part of the world, or how these tensions really form, so I can't really say how accurate/well-done these things are. I only know that reading them felt real and poignant - and written by a Muslim woman, I'm sure its her personal insights that make the book feel this way (there are many books that feel like a cheap souvenir when it comes to world-building inspired by a specific country or part of the world).

Characters are colorful, three dimensional, and memorable (except for maybe the cackling villain, haha, but it wasn't enough to dim my reading experience). There are dangerous but charming jinn, strong and flawed women, cowardly hackers who find their inner hero, etc. There's an amazing amount of characters, but it never gets confusing. Everyone is introduced and realized at the right time.

Yeah, there's a thousand beautiful things to say about this book, and only a few to critique. I need to buy it. Soon.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 13 January, 2017: Finished reading
  • 13 January, 2017: Reviewed