Reviews round-up
Gliff
by Ali Smith
5 of 6 critics positive
7 reviews: 5 positives, 1 mixed; 1 not stating a verdict in public
What the critics said
Positive
Read the review ↗“a poetic, dystopian puzzlebox”
Gliff by Ali Smith review: a poetic, dystopian puzzlebox
Positive
Read the review ↗“delivers an ingenious speculative novel”
Gliff by Ali Smith
Positive
Read the review ↗“a dystopian nightmare with flashes of fairytale enchantment”
Ali Smith’s new novel Gliff is a dystopian nightmare with flashes of fairytale enchantment
Positive
Read the review ↗“projects her exceptional state-of-the-nation storytelling”
Gliff by Ali Smith review – a warning from the near future
Positive
Read the review ↗“Ali Smith’s new novel is a charm”
Remove the tired politics, and Ali Smith’s new novel is a charm
Mixed
Read the review ↗“a clever novel – but not a moving one”
Gliff by Ali Smith is a clever novel – but not a moving one
Verdict not stated
Read the review ↗Children on the Run From a Dystopian Nightmare (Published 2025)
Verdicts are read from each outlet's own headline and summary; quotes are their words, credited and linked. Where a paywalled summary does not give the critic's view, we say so rather than guess. How it works.
