Gliff, a moving and genre-bending story, delves into our era-spanning search for meaning and understanding. Set in the present day, the narrative unfolds when a young woman inherits a suitcase from her deceased grandmother. The luggage tag bears only the word "GLIFF", leaving her with no clue whether it represents someone's name or hints at the contents within.

Upon opening the suitcase, she discovers a thin piece of collaged parchment, an enigmatic blend of worn waxy fabric and a dry, brittle substance that eludes identification. The term Gliff, originating from Scottish dialect, signifies a "transient moment" or "faint glimpse." Through this lens, the novel explores the human drive to leave an imprint on the world.

In an age where western industry seeks to distill our existence into algorithms and data—reducing us to mere categories and predictable patterns—Ali Smith champions the significance of our multifaceted nature. Gliff is a testament to the importance of our individual complexity in a world increasingly inclined towards oversimplification.