May 2022 Reading Roundup
Here's what I read this month, from a novel set in Cyprus and partly narrated by a fig tree to an exploration of the importance of disorder in cities.
Man on Pink Corner: Borges Marathon, Part 8
In this story, Jorge Luis Borges takes us into the colourful world of knife fights and gangsters on the streets of old Buenos Aires. It's a compelling portrait and a beautifully constructed story—with a powerful twist in the final few…
April 2022 Reading Roundup
This month's reading featured Caribbean literary fiction, politics, economics, and the moving tales of a Berlin chiropodist.
Borges Marathon, Part 7: Hakim, the Masked Dyer of Merv
One of the fun parts of working my way through the Fictions of Jorge Luis Borges is trying to understand where the boundary lies between fact and fiction. In Hakim, the Masked Dyer of Merv, as far as I can…
February 2022 Reading Roundup
Last month I read some excellent books, including Japanese literary fiction and some more Caribbean literature from local bookshops.
Lote by Shola van Reinhold #ReadIndies
Lote, a debut novel by Shola van Reinhold, is an intelligent, beautifully written piece of literary fiction that explores issues of art, beauty, race, sexuality and more.
Pick of the Crop by Nailah Folami Imoja
The annual calypso competition is a big deal in Barbados, so when I saw a novel about it on a recent trip to a second-hand bookshop, I wanted to give it a try. It has a promising start, but the…
January 2022 Reading Roundup
I had a good reading month, including a few books from my trip to a Barbadian bookshop, plus a couple for the Japanese Literary Challenge. Here are the details.
The Joy of Bookshops
I recently visited a bookshop for the first time in ages. Browsing the shelves, picking up books at random, reading back covers and ruffling through the pages was a true joy.