Friday 5 April 2013

Alif the Unseen by G. Willow Wilson

Alif is a young hacker living in a unnamed city in what can be presumed to be the United Arab Emirates in the time of the Arab Spring.  Drawn to computing and to making money, he sells his skills to whoever can afford them, from Islamic terrorists to the owners of pornography sites.  At the opening of the book, Alif's relationship with upper class Insitar is falling apart with the knowledge that she will soon be marrying a wealthy member of the Arab elite.  In his sadness and anger, Alif creates a new program that can identify an individual, no matter what machine they are using, and uses it to cut Insitar off from his life.  But the program makes him vulnerable to the Hand, the state security monitoring devices, and the arrival of a mysterious book from Insitar only increases the danger.  With the help of his neighbour Dina and an American convert to Islam, Alif learns that the seeing world isn't the edge of reality and that invisible dangers, including djinns and demons, might lurk beneath.

I was very pleased to see Alif the Unseen on the long-list for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2013, as it's rare that you see a fantasy novel long-listed for a literary prize.   I was excited to get to it after reading JoV's review which described it as part Harry Potter, part Arabian Nights.  Two of my most favourite things!  This combined with the praise from Neil Gaiman on the front cover, probably raised my expectations a bit too high, for Alif the Unseen is a very good book, but perhaps not a great one.  As a fan of the original Arabian Nights, I loved how Wilson borrowed the mythology of the djinns from this and from the Qu'ran and then adapted it to create her world, where djinns and humans used to coincide before the narrow-mindedness of the humans made the djinns virtually invisible.  Characters with closed minds still can not fully appreciate the world around them as it truly is.  I liked the moral ambiguity of the djinns and the way the fantasy was interwoven with modern politics, such as in the section where Alif is held by the state in a brutal way.  In the same way the djinns moved in and out of human consciousness, the fantasy elements moved in and out of the story.

Alif's neighbour, Dina, was a fantastic character and I loved how G. Willow Wilson used her and the American convert to subtly challenge preconceptions about Muslim women.  Even though Dina has chosen to wear the veil, she's outspoken, brave and most definitely the source of Alif's strength.  On the whole the book was well plotted with a good pace that kept me turning the pages.  I liked the mythology of the 'Thousand and One Days', the book that Insitar gave Alif at the end of their relationship.

There was so much to like about this book and it certainly ticked all of the things I love to read about at the moment (fantasy, Arabian Nights, adventure, strong female characters, old books).  However, it was a bit lacking overall.  The reveal about the person behind the Hand, the state security system, didn't quite work and his motivations for causing such suffering seemed to keep on changing, which took away from the plot.  There's only one djinn character that has any kind of character development, which made some of the nastier djinns much less threatening.  The book overall was suffering from a lack of depth.  Despite the fact that I so wanted to love this book and treasure it forever, I couldn't quite do it.  Still, I'm pleased to see it on the long-list and I hope that it leads to more fantasy books on the long-list in future, as it makes a refreshing change.

Source: Library
First Published: 2012
Score: 3.5 out of 5

20 comments:

  1. I have to admit that this is one of the books on the long list that appeals to me the least! I'm not really a fantasy fan, though I do occasionally enjoy the genre. I have failed at reading many books on the long list - do you know when the short list will be announced?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm really into fantasy at the moment, I go through phases of absolutely loving it, then not reading any for a few years or more. I believe the short-list is announced on the 16th, and you're not alone in failing - I've only read 3!

      Delete
  2. Great review -- I'm dying to read this one -- but will temper my expectations!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, if I had more reasonable expectations I might have been blown away.

      Delete
  3. I am glad you find something good out of this book. I am partial to Middle Eastern book! It is an unusual and entertaining book for me. Glad you read it! :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I loved how unusual it is, I was pleased to see it on the long-list for that reason alone.

      Delete
  4. This isn't normally the type of book that appeals to me. (Neither was The Night Circus and I loved that to bits so...) I keep hearing good things and I think I might give it a whirl.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I saw it on netgalley ages ago and didn't request it, as I thought it wouldn't be for me (I think it was the hacking that put me off), but I think it does have some cross-genre appeal.

      Delete
  5. I hadn't realized this was a fantasy book! I think I always just read the beginning of the blurb, but not the whole thing. It sounds pretty fascinating, despite some of the flaws...I might need to pick it up now that it's coming in paperback.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I did the same! I saw it on netgalley, read the first part of the blurb and thought 'hackers aren't really my thing...'

      Delete
  6. I disregard any comments that liken fantasy books to Harry Potter. Magic does not equal Harry Potter but it's a bit like everyone comparing books with vampires in to Twilight! I will be reading this, but without any expectations. Had it on my Kindle for a while now and like everythign else on there it keeps getting forgotten!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There are some similarities to HP beyond the whole magic thing...Dina is a lot like Hermione and there's a mystery hidden in a series of riddles. It's always best to go in with no expectations if possible.

      Delete
  7. I've seen this about a fair bit and it certainly appeals to me the least out of the longlist. I'll get around to it soon I'm sure and I'll just have to try and read it with an open mind.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hopefully you'll be pleasantly surprised by it when you do read it...

      Delete
  8. Oh, I was SO excited by all parts of this book, so I'm bummed that it ended up falling flat. The cover is so pretty, the premise is so amazing - it all sounds so good. Sigh. I will probably read it, anyway :-)

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm still interested in reading this book, but I've had concerns about it before. Oh well might as well give it a go

    ReplyDelete
  10. I haven't read this book. After reading yours and JoV's reviews though I think this might be a book I'd enjoy as I really love my fantasy!

    ReplyDelete
  11. This is a book I keep hearing about as it's the rare fantasy novel that makes literary lists AND written by a woman. But maybe those three things don't make it a perfect read. Sorry you didn't love it.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thanks for your thoughts about this book. I was excited when I saw it on the long-list, too...and I now have a copy of the audiobook waiting to be listened to. But my rush to listen disappeared when it didn't make the short-list. I'll still get to it, of course, but I'll probably focus on the others for now. At least until the winner is announced. :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. I loved this book for more reasons than one. Being Muslim and entirely too self-conscious about it due to current politics, I've often felt that writers either demonize it or preach it. Wilson, on the other hand, does neither. I liked the hint of mythology - djinns are real creatures, I've had experience with some, (hee), and I think Wilson does a great job in bringing to life and showing that there is more to Islam and Muslim culture than terrorism, bombing and cowering. Plus, her own experiences figured in deeply with me.

    Marlene Detierro (Cash for Gold)

    ReplyDelete