by G. Willow Wilson
Grove Press, 2012. 431 pgs. Fantasy
What a scream. Laugh out loud stories about oppressive Middle Eastern regimes are not exactly a dime a dozen, so Wilson's story of the Arab-Indian computer hacker and expediter who finds a prickly refuge amongst the jinn of Middle Eastern mythology is a particular treasure. When Alif arouses the malign interest of The Hand of God, a shadowy government official adept at rooting out internet subversives, he runs for his life with the inadvertent company of his lifelong friend, the neighbor's daughter. A quick stop to consult his friends at Radio Sheikh sends him on to Vikram the Vampire who really is something less and more than human. Alif grows up during the course of the story, which takes him to prison, into the Empty Quarter (which is not all that empty after all), through a life-defining David Copperfield moment, and on to the fulfillment of narrative outlined by the ancient and profoundly valuable Alf Yeom--the book of A Thousand and One Days. Although Alif's city and country remain unnamed, the true richness and good (even if gallows) humor of life in the Arab lands is brightly revealed in these pages. Just the sort of book you regret finishing because then you can't look forward to reading it.
LW
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