Works by Alexander Boldizar
Alexander Boldizar is the author of three standalone novels — The Man Who Saw Seconds (2024), The Ugly (2016) and Ride or Die Girl (January 2027) — as well as short fiction and nonfiction.
Fiction
Ride or Die Girl
Crime novel · Simon Maverick / Simon & Schuster · January 19, 2027
Pre-orderGoodfellas meets Oyinkan Braithwaite's My Sister, the Serial Killer in RIDE OR DIE GIRL, a darkly absurdist crime novel that tracks Beatrix through Dante's nine circles alongside British Columbia's most notorious gangster, transforming from prey to predator. The Bacchae would have been a fan.
The Man Who Saw Seconds
Science fiction thriller · CLASH Books · 2024
2025 Locus Award
The Ugly
Satire of Harvard Law School · Brooklyn Arts Press · 2016
CIBA Grand Prize Best Book of 2016Which Alexander Boldizar novel is right for you?
All three novels stand alone; none is a sequel to another.
| Attribute |  Ride or Die Girl |  The Man Who Saw Seconds |  The Ugly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Genre | Literary crime; dark comedy | Science fiction thriller; political satire | Literary satire; picaresque |
| Point of view | First person: Beatrix | Third person | Third person at Harvard, first person in Mali |
| Pace | Fast, voice-driven | Very fast, action-driven | Digressive, idea-driven |
| Humour | Very dark | Dark and absurdist, under the surface | Broad and philosophical |
| Ideas | Abuse, predation, cycles of violence | Prediction, time, institutions, freedom | Law, language, what thinking is |
| Emotional core | Beatrix's transformation from prey to predator | A father protecting his son | An outsider trying to win back his tribe's land |
| Setting | British Columbia | New York City, the United States, Northern Canada | Siberia, Harvard Law School, Mali |
| Violence | High | High | Moderate |
| Start here if you want | Dark crime with a female narrator | A page-turner with ideas | A philosophical comedy |
Ride or Die Girl- Genre
- Literary crime; dark comedy
- Point of view
- First person: Beatrix
- Pace
- Fast, voice-driven
- Humour
- Very dark
- Ideas
- Abuse, predation, cycles of violence
- Emotional core
- Beatrix's transformation from prey to predator
- Setting
- British Columbia
- Violence
- High
- Start here if you want
- Dark crime with a female narrator
The Man Who Saw Seconds- Genre
- Science fiction thriller; political satire
- Point of view
- Third person
- Pace
- Very fast, action-driven
- Humour
- Dark and absurdist, under the surface
- Ideas
- Prediction, time, institutions, freedom
- Emotional core
- A father protecting his son
- Setting
- New York City, the United States, Northern Canada
- Violence
- High
- Start here if you want
- A page-turner with ideas
The Ugly- Genre
- Literary satire; picaresque
- Point of view
- Third person at Harvard, first person in Mali
- Pace
- Digressive, idea-driven
- Humour
- Broad and philosophical
- Ideas
- Law, language, what thinking is
- Emotional core
- An outsider trying to win back his tribe's land
- Setting
- Siberia, Harvard Law School, Mali
- Violence
- Moderate
- Start here if you want
- A philosophical comedy
Short Fiction
Six published short stories, including a PEN prize winner.
Fiction International
PEN/Nob Hill Prize Winner
Pulling Shadows
Transition Magazine
Best New American Voices Nominee
I, Muzhduk
Literary Imagination
Bureaucracy
Nonfiction
Art criticism, journalism, law reviews, and cultural essays — published in The Globe and Mail, Harper's Bazaar, Harvard Law Record, and more.
Art Criticism
Damien Hirst: New Paintings (Interview)
Journalism
Earthquake in the Himalayas
