We Computers

“A genre-blending, time-bending, poetic novel. . . . We Computers is [Ismailov’s] most expansive and imaginative creation yet.”—Matthew Janney, Financial Times

“A dizzying postmodernist confection translated with tireless ingenuity by Shelley Fairweather-Vega. . . . A thronged, esoteric, besottedly allusive novel, one of the most niche things I have ever reviewed. But niche pleasures, for those who partake in them, are often the keenest.”—Sam Sacks, Wall Street Journal

“Hamid Ismailov’s wildly experimental novel . . . creates an alternate history in which a 1980s computer intelligently generates a new kind of mind-expanding, transnational literature.”—Boris Kachka, The Atlantic

“ We Computers is a novel that fully embraces ambiguity.”—Anu Khosla, The Rumpus

“An exuberant homage to all forms of translation and reinvention.”—Thúy Ðinh, NPR, “Books We Love,” 2025

One of World Literature Today ’s 75 Notable Translations of 2025

“Centuries of poetic tradition and the possibilities of artificial intelligence animate this dizzying and gorgeous novel. . . . A rich and sensual tableau that makes an implicit argument for the value of human thought. Readers will go all in for this ambitious, genre-defying work.”— Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Timely, interesting, poetic—and quite good fun, too.”—M. A. Orthofer, Complete Review

“Tremendously funny and charming (I read it in one sitting) and one of the most original, sideways explorations of how AI will affect literary authorship and innovation.”—Celine Nguyen, personal canon

“A wonderfully chaotic novel.”— Modern Novel

Finalist for the National Book Awards Translated Literature Prize, 2025, sponsored by The National Book Foundation

Shortlisted for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Literature Prize, 2026

“A feat of translation from Shelley Fairweather-Vega, Hamid Ismailov’s novel is a timely meditation on the limits of language, art, and what’s human in human creativity.”—Judges’ citation, National Book Awards

“Many paths cross in Ismailov’s beautiful new work—poetry, history and the infinite imagination. Every path winding into another. Every path worth taking.”—Patti Smith

“Ismailov’s best novel yet, We Computers braids together exquisite classical and modern poetry, disorienting autofiction, and Oulipian metaliterary trickery, without ever losing its sense of fun. Fairweather-Vega’s translation handles the multilingual quotations and protean range of pastiche with remarkable deftness.”—Samuel Hodgkin, Yale University



“A genre-blending, time-bending, poetic novel. . . . We Computers is [Ismailov’s] most expansive and imaginative creation yet.”—Matthew Janney, Financial Times

“A dizzying postmodernist confection translated with tireless ingenuity by Shelley Fairweather-Vega. . . . A thronged, esoteric, besottedly allusive novel, one of the most niche things I have ever reviewed. But niche pleasures, for those who partake in them, are often the keenest.”—Sam Sacks, Wall Street Journal

“Hamid Ismailov’s wildly experimental novel . . . creates an alternate history in which a 1980s computer intelligently generates a new kind of mind-expanding, transnational literature.”—Boris Kachka, The Atlantic

“ We Computers is a novel that fully embraces ambiguity.”—Anu Khosla, The Rumpus

“An exuberant homage to all forms of translation and reinvention.”—Thúy Ðinh, NPR, “Books We Love,” 2025

One of World Literature Today ’s 75 Notable Translations of 2025

“Centuries of poetic tradition and the possibilities of artificial intelligence animate this dizzying and gorgeous novel. . . . A rich and sensual tableau that makes an implicit argument for the value of human thought. Readers will go all in for this ambitious, genre-defying work.”— Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Timely, interesting, poetic—and quite good fun, too.”—M. A. Orthofer, Complete Review

“Tremendously funny and charming (I read it in one sitting) and one of the most original, sideways explorations of how AI will affect literary authorship and innovation.”—Celine Nguyen, personal canon

“A wonderfully chaotic novel.”— Modern Novel

Finalist for the National Book Awards Translated Literature Prize, 2025, sponsored by The National Book Foundation

Shortlisted for the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Literature Prize, 2026

“A feat of translation from Shelley Fairweather-Vega, Hamid Ismailov’s novel is a timely meditation on the limits of language, art, and what’s human in human creativity.”—Judges’ citation, National Book Awards

“Many paths cross in Ismailov’s beautiful new work—poetry, history and the infinite imagination. Every path winding into another. Every path worth taking.”—Patti Smith

“Ismailov’s best novel yet, We Computers braids together exquisite classical and modern poetry, disorienting autofiction, and Oulipian metaliterary trickery, without ever losing its sense of fun. Fairweather-Vega’s translation handles the multilingual quotations and protean range of pastiche with remarkable deftness.”—Samuel Hodgkin, Yale University

Hamid Ismailov , born in Kyrgyzstan and raised in Uzbekistan, is considered Central Asia’s foremost living author. His novels include The Railway , The Dead Lake , and The Underground . He lives in Herts, UK. Shelley Fairweather-Vega is a translator who specializes in prose and poetry from Central Asia. She lives in Seattle, WA.