Star Tribune's our top critics share their favorite books of the year:
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"Diary of a Young Naturalist"
By Dara McAnulty. (Milkweed Editions, $25.)
Dara McAnulty was 14 when he wrote this wonderful memoir, and his knowledge at such a young age is astounding — not just of the natural world, but of literature, Irish history and legends, music and politics. The book follows a year in his life when his family moves from one Northern Irish town to another. He endures bullying (he is autistic and not much like the other kids), finds solace, inspiration and courage in nature and takes his first steps toward becoming an activist.
— LAURIE HERTZEL
"The Free World: Art and Thought in the Cold War"
By Louis Menand. (FSG, $35.)
Louis Menand grants himself the liberty to link numerous political and cultural developments in “The Free World: Art and Thought in the Cold War.” The thesis of this long book — that the U.S. misused its post-World War II might on multiple fronts, even as American-born and -based artists and writers led the way in painting, literature and ideas — isn’t revolutionary. But his perceptive writings on James Baldwin, Hannah Arendt and numerous others explain how, from 1945-65, one word — freedom — “was invoked to justify everything.”
— KEVIN CANFIELD
"Harlem Shuffle"
By Colson Whitehead. (Penguin Random House, $28.95.)
Colson Whitehead has clear literary intentions here working within the conventions of crime fiction. “Harlem Shuffle” vibrates with enchanting cadences reminiscent of exceptional noire and early Black American jazz. Whitehead’s characters are fully realized and memorable; Harlem and Manhattan are essentially personified. They’re vulnerable and mortal here, like us. New York history and Whitehead’s examination of racial injustice flow seamlessly with characters pursuing capers and confronting consequences. “Harlem Shuffle” is simultaneously historical and urgent. It is wildly entertaining and sits comfortably among Whitehead’s best works.
— MICHAEL KLEBER-DIGGS
"Slough House"
By Mick Herron. (Soho Crime, $16.95.)
“Slough House” is the eighth novel-length installment of Mick Herron’s brilliant, darkly comic series chronicling the tribulations and derring-do of a group of disgraced members of Britain’s secret service. Referred contemptuously as the “slow horses” by the big bosses, they are led by the infinitely unsavory, infinitely cunning Jackson Lamb. You could start with “Slough House” or get the boxed set of the first six novels and carry on from there, but once and wherever you begin, there’s no stopping.
— KATHERINE A. POWERS
"The Passenger"
By Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz, translated from the German by Philip Boehm. (Metropolitan Books, $24.99.)
A rediscovered masterpiece, Ulrich Alexander Boschwitz’s “The Passenger” charts the frantic progress and relentless struggles of Jewish businessman Otto Silbermann as he attempts to flee persecution in Nazi Germany. Boarding one train after another and encountering a host of friends and enemies, he journeys ever deeper into the unknown, never sure if he will make it over a border or see his family again. “Not only am I trying to escape,” he says, “I’m also running a race against despair.” His captivated reader follows him every step of the way.
— MALCOLM FORBES
"Worldly Things"
By Michael Kleber-Diggs. (Milkweed Editions, $22.)
“Worldly Things” is a perfect book and as necessary as a first-aid kit. After her friend miscarried, this critic sent them “Confluence” to remind them “joy doubles, also pain.” Salve mourning with the lines: “Repurpose my body. Mix me with soil and seed, / compost for a sapling. Make my remains useful, / wondrous.” When your resolve wanes, be fortified by Kleber-Diggs’ courage to “not bury myself under / [America’s] fables where we’re one, indivisible, free.”
— ELIZABETH HOOVER
"Cloud Cuckoo Land"
By Anthony Doerr. (Scribner, $30.)
Realism may be the dominant American literary mode, but leave it to Anthony Doerr to push us out of our comfort zone. His passion for myth and fable lights up this panoramic epic, as an ancient manuscript braids three disparate strands: the 1453 siege of Constantinople, present-day Idaho, and a 22nd-century starship careening away from a poisoned Earth. Doerr’s prose casts a spell; his world-building is both defiant and tender, a virtuosic meditation on the alchemy of books. Come for the magician’s tricks, stay for the exquisite storytelling.
— HAMILTON CAIN
"The Sum of Us"
By Heather McGhee. (One World, $28.)
At the heart of Heather McGhee’s “The Sum of Us” is this urgent and compelling proposition for our consideration: How “an economy — the rules we abide by and set for what’s fair and who merits what — is an expression of our moral understanding.” Read this brilliant, meticulously researched book not only for McGhee’s cogent response to our imperiled moral core (think: ongoing racism and the zero-sum mind-set) but also for a resonant way forward that enriches us all.
— ANGELA AJAYI
"Harrow"
By Joy Williams. (Alfred A. Knopf, $26.)
This post-apocalyptic picaresque follows a plucky young heroine through a devastated landscape to what seems like the end of the world, finding occasional wisdom and some respite with a cast of characters of inspired wackiness along the way. As entertaining as it is, well, harrowing, the novel is an oddly reassuring repository of cultural, historical, philosophical, psychological, environmental, mythical and linguistic lore — all put in perspective and often punctured by Joy Williams’ wry, goofy, generous wit.
— ELLEN AKINS
"Today a Woman Went Mad in the Supermarket"
By Hilma Wolitzer. (Bloomsbury, $26.)
The 13 stories in Hilma Wolitzer’s collection are the product of illimitable talent and relentless insight. Wolitzer explores marriage, parenthood, aging and desire in ways that are never predictable, always intelligent and often sad. The closing story, “The Great Escape” — the only work dated 2020 — is a monumental achievement, engaging the subject of the global pandemic without losing sight of the characters at the core. Every story here is full of wit and rich detail.
— JACKIE THOMAS-KENNEDY
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