You may remember that last summer I was pretty excited about G. Willow Wilson’s debut novel, Alif the Unseen. You can read my earlier thoughts on Alif, or just read the book – it’s out in paperback now. Briefly, it is genre-bending urban political fantasy magical realism which presaged the various recent revolutions of the Middle East.

Part of the plot of Alif involves a book called the 1001 Days, which may or may not be a fake written by a European. Last year I got a copy of another such book – a little younger, a little less magic involved in the plot, but an excellent read. The Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan was written by James Morier, who was of Swiss-Dutch extraction. Read More →