Overview

Glyph follows sisters Petra and Patch across two timelines. As children they hear a disturbing story from the past and invent a ghost of their own. Thirty years later they are estranged, until Petra finds herself confronted by a phantom horse tearing through her home and is forced to contact her sister. What unfolds is a novel about memory, family, history and the stories that refuse to stay buried.

Writing & Voice

We found Smith’s writing playful, inventive and deeply curious. Her fascination with language sits at the centre of the novel, but the wordplay never overwhelms the characters. Instead it becomes part of how the book explores memory, misunderstanding and connection.

Content & Perspective

The story moves between childhood and adulthood, showing how old wounds and shared stories continue to shape the sisters’ lives. Alongside their relationship runs a wider exploration of forgotten histories, political division and the ways people choose what to remember and what to ignore.

Themes

Glyph explores family, grief, imagination and historical memory. It asks how stories survive across generations and what responsibility we have to the past. Running through the novel is a belief that imagination is not an escape from reality but one of the tools we use to understand it.

What Worked

• Rich, inventive prose full of energy and ideas.
• Strong sibling relationship at the heart of the novel.
• Thoughtful engagement with history without becoming didactic.

Minor Quibbles

• The experimental style may not suit every reader.
• Some symbolic elements are left deliberately open to interpretation.

Final Thoughts

Smith uses ghosts, memory and family to ask serious questions about the present, creating a novel that is both intimate and politically alert.

Rating: ★★★★½ / 5