Alta’s Top Book Reviews of 2020

New books from Mike Davis and Jon Wiener, Lynell George, Juan Felipe Herrera, Laila Lalami, Felicia Luna Lemus, Attica Locke, Roberto Lovato, Kay Ryan, Rebecca Solnit, and Tom Zoellner captured the hearts of our critics.

Dec 22, 2020

year in review 2020, juan felipe herrera, laila lalami, felicia luna lemus, attica locke,

Alta

Alta books editor David L. Ulin selects his favorite print and online reviews of the past year.

Highway 59 Revisited

attica locke makes it look easy in her most recent highway 59 mystery novel, heaven, my home

ULF ANDERSEN/GETTY IMAGES

Attica Locke’s new mystery offers a consequential commentary on contemporary politics.

The Art of Rebecca Solnit’s Essay

rebecca solnit, recollections of my nonexistance

David Butow

What makes Rebecca Solnit’s essays so popular? That they’re probably so right. And that’s a problem.

A Poet in Her Element

former us poet laureate kay ryan distills a lifetime of thinking about—and writing—verse with the essays collected in synthesizing gravity

GROVE PRESS

With the essays in Synthesizing Gravity, Kay Ryan pulls back the covers on her verse.

True Stories of L.A. in the 1960s

set the night on fire, mike davis, jon wiener

Verso

Mike Davis and Jon Wiener revisit the turbulence of Los Angeles in the 1960s—and come correct.

Laila Lalami Goes Deep

laila lalami, author of conditional citizens

GETTY IMAGES

Conditional Citizens excavates the history of exclusion.

The Book of Love

felicia luna lemus, particulate matters

Felicia Luna Lemus

Felicia Luna Lemus’s Particulate Matter is a memoir of intimacy and grace.

The Wounds of History

unforgetting, roberto lovato

Harper

Roberto Lovato’s Unforgetting chronicles public and private wars.

Drive, He Said

tom zoellner, the national road

Counterpoint

Tom Zoellner’s The National Road seeks to take the measure of America.

The Better Angels of His Nature

every day we get more illegal, juan felipe herrera

Carlos Puma

In Every Day We Get More Illegal, Juan Felipe Herrera doubles down on hope.

Kindred Spirits

a handful of earth a handful of sky, lynell george

Angel City Press

Lynell George channels Octavia E. Butler in A Handful of Earth, A Handful of Sky.

Beth Spotswood Beth Spotswood is Alta's digital editor, events manager, and a contributing writer.

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

More From Books

Excerpt: ‘I’ve Had to Think Up a Way to Survive’

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

15 New Books for October

Alta’s Favorite Bookstores: Update 3

California Bestsellers List (September 28, 2022)

The Dark Season

Marion Davies on Her Own Terms

An M.F.K. Fisher Primer

The Magnificence of M.F.K. Fisher