Literary Fiction | Book Chatter

Gliff
By Ali Smith
Pantheon, 9780593701560, Feb 2025, 288 pp.

The Short of It:

Thought-provoking. A tad terrifying given our current times.

The Rest of It:

An uncertain near-future. A story of new boundaries drawn between people daily. A not-very brave new world.

Add two children. And a horse. ~ the publisher

You know when you pick up a book because you just finished one and you want to keep the momentum going? Gliff was that book for me. I had seen it around. I had absolutely no idea what it was about but it was readily available from the library so I tucked in and fell right into it.

What an odd read.

Gliff -an unexpected view of something startling

Two children. Their parents, no longer around. Are they alive? I think yes, but somewhere else, or possibly living in another time. The children, Briar and Rose quietly fight for their survival as boundary markers, men who walk around marking boundaries around structures, make things disappear.

Living in abandoned structures and existing on canned sustenance, they make an adventure of their current situation. Briar, slightly older than Rose, turns every task into a simple yet critical need, gently hiding how dangerous the situation actually is.

People are desperate and there are bad people. Briar is constantly on the lookout assessing things in order to keep them safe.

Enter the horse.

In one of the abandoned dwellings that they take refuge in, Rose befriends a boy across the way who has a horse. Rose wants to own this horse. It’s not feasible to own a horse in their particular situation but Rose is obsessed with what will become of the horse if she doesn’t step in to save him.

As meager as their means are, they hand over what they have and walk the horse over to their temporary home. They keep him inside, for fear of people seeing him. Realizing how temporary the situation is, Briar heads out, looking for something. Not knowing quite what she’s looking for, she runs into a strange woman.

This woman knows where all the cameras are and which areas of the neighborhood are unseen due to vantage point. She tells Briar about the underground, literally a world living beneath them that is unseen and not monitored. People work there and then return to life after boundaries.

What transpires is not a revolution per se, but an understanding that things must be done in order to live, and escape. Does a better world exist elsewhere? Will Briar be able to reach it given what she knows?

This was a fascinating read. Nothing is spelled out for the reader. You digest it and decide what is going on. If you are the type who needs everything to be clearly wrapped up by that last page, then this might not be for you. I found it to be quite good. Dystopian reads just hit different in these times we are living in.

I recommend this one.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Bookshop.org affiliate links.

Night Watch
By Jayne Anne Phillips
Knopf, 9780451493330, September2023, 304 pp.

The Short of It:

Brutal and honest.

The Rest of It:

“In 1874, in the wake of the War, erasure, trauma, and namelessness haunt civilians and veterans, renegades and wanderers, freedmen and runaways. Twelve-year-old ConaLee, the adult in her family for as long as she can remember, finds herself on a buckboard journey with her mother, Eliza, who hasn’t spoken in more than a year. They arrive at the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia, delivered to the hospital’s entrance by a war veteran who has forced himself into their world. There, far from family, a beloved neighbor, and the mountain home they knew, they try to reclaim their lives.” ~ the publisher

I am not a fan of war stories. I find them to be incredibly tedious. This book, although set during war, was a bit different in its approach. I was immediately pulled into this story. A very brutal act, takes place fairly early on and from that moment, I was riveted. As ConaLee and her mother, the non-speaking, completely lost Eliza make their way to a “hospital”, really an asylum for the mentally ill, I couldn’t help but want the best for them. But at every turn you are made to question the motives of others. Doctors, nurses, etc.

ConaLee and Eliza leave children behind. Eliza, left her son and a set of twins behind, not able to care for them. She was drained physically and mentally from the ordeal that she survived while her husband was away at war.

ConaLee, just 12 years of age is old enough to know that something terrible happened and is old enough to feel the loss of her siblings. The closeness that she has to her mother is what propels her forward. So when she is forced to play the role of Eliza’s nursemaid, she does so out of desperation so they can remain together at the hospital. In the midst of all this is their dear friend Dearbhla, who is a healer and can see the future. She continues to look out for them as they make their journey to the hospital.

What ensues is a story of survival. Eliza’s health, at first very fragile begins to show the effects of good food, quality care, and the safety that the hospital provides. ConaLee sees the change in her mother but she also notices a closeness between her mother and Dr. Story, the man who seems to be turning her life around for the better.

Old characters return from the past. Some dearly missed, and some absolutely evil. The last few chapters are delivered as a whirlwind of action. So much happens. So much is revealed. What an interesting story. And if you are wondering about the title, Night Watch is a position held at the hospital and plays a critical role in the story.

My book club chose this book for March. We meet to discuss it tonight. I think there will be plenty to discuss.

Source: Borrowed
Disclosure: This post contains Bookshop.org affiliate links.

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