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Grove Press
June 2012
On Sale: June 19, 2012
320 pages
ISBN: 0802120202
EAN: 9780802120205
Kindle: B0087GJVPO
Hardcover / e-Book
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Fiction Family Life
In an unnamed Middle Eastern security state, a young Arab-Indian hacker shields his clientsβdissidents, outlaws, Islamists, and other watched groupsβfrom surveillance and tries to stay out of trouble. He goes by Alifβthe first letter of the Arabic alphabet, and a convenient handle to hide behind. The aristocratic woman Alif loves has jilted him for a prince chosen by her parents, and his computer has just been breached by the Stateβs electronic security force, putting his clients and his own neck on the line. Then it turns out his loverβs new fiancΓ© is the head of State security, and his henchmen come after Alif, driving him underground. When Alif discovers The Thousand and One Days, the secret book of the jinn, which both he and the Hand suspect may unleash a new level of information technology, the stakes are raised and Alif must struggle for life or death, aided by forces seen and unseen. With shades of Neal Stephenson, Neil Gaiman, Philip Pullman, and The Thousand and One Nights, Alif the Unseen is a tour de force debutβa sophisticated melting pot of ideas, philosophy, religion, technology and spirituality smuggled inside an irresistible page-turner.
 Media BuzzAll Things Considered - December 13, 2012
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