Andrew Blackman, literary fiction writer, traveller, book reviewer and essayist

Reading

Books I read in July 2026

The best book I read this month was a historian's account of how the concept of the West came about and why it's origin myths are wrong, but I also read some good novels and other books.

Reading

Emma Zunz: Borges Marathon, Part 32

My thoughts on this short story by Jorge Luis Borges, which is an outlier in terms of the plot and main character, but still one of his most successful stories.

Uncategorized

The Three-Cornered Hat by Pedro Antonio de Alarcón

In this 19th-century Spanish novella, a miller and his wife have their love tested by the scheming of a corrupt local authority figure.

Reading

Paris in Turmoil #parisinjuly2026

Parisian writer Eric Hazan shares his memories of Paris interwoven with historical research and beautifully observed urban detail.

Reading

Books I read in June 2026

From a Booker winner to a nineteenth-century vision of a future socialist utopia, here's a roundup of the books I read this month.

Reading

A Biography of Tadeo Isidoro Cruz: Borges Marathon, Part 31

Are our lives really defined by a single moment? And what happens when that moment involves seeing yourself in someone else? Borges answers these questions while telling the story of…

Reading

Natives of My Person by George Lamming

My review of Barbadian novelist George Lamming's complex allegory of colonial psychology.

Reading

Books I read in May 2026

From contemporary fiction to a classic search for human meaning, here are the books I read and enjoyed in May.

Reading

Story of the Warrior and the Captive Maiden: Borges Marathon, Part 30

Like most Borges stories, this one isn't quite what you might expect. Here's what it means to me.

Thinking

Why I Don’t Know What My Favourite Book Is

"What's your favourite book?" It should be a simple question for someone like me, but it really isn't.

Reading

The Theologians: Borges Marathon, Part 29

Jorge Luis Borges uses a debate between two medieval theologians to explore themes of infinity, orthodoxy, and personal identity.

Reading

The Dead Man: Borges Marathon, Part 28

Borges takes us to the vast plains of the Brazilian frontier for an epic battle of wills between a grizzled gang leader and an ambitious pretender.

Reading

Sublimation by Isabel J. Kim

What would life be like if you left a version of yourself behind when you migrated? This thoughtful sci-fi novel introduces "instancing" as a powerful metaphor for the rupture of…

Thinking

What is this “rules-based international order” you speak of?

Stop lamenting the demise of a system that never existed, and start imagining what it would be like if rich nations really did play by the rules.

Andrew Blackman

Andrew Blackman

Andrew Blackman