Last-minute gifts: The 10 best books of December 2020
Just in time for the holidays, it鈥檚 the Monitor鈥檚 selections for the top books of December 2020 all wrapped up and tied with a bow.
鈥淲ild Minds: The Artists and Rivalries That Inspired the Golden Age of Animation鈥� by Reid Mitenbuler, Atlantic Monthly Press, 432 pp.; and 鈥� Mozart: The Reign of Love鈥� by Jan Swafford, Harper, 832 pp.
Grove Atlantic and HarperCollins Publishers
1.聽The Mystery of Mrs. Christie聽by Marie Benedict
Bestselling author Agatha Christie went missing for 11 days in 1926, triggering a massive hunt. Her disappearance was never fully explained, but suspicion fell on her first husband, Archie. Marie Benedict concocts an imaginative historical novel that sounds the depths of Christie鈥檚 marriage in search of clues to what may have happened.
2.聽The Opium Prince聽by Jasmine Aimaq
Afghanistan provides the backdrop for this debut novel about cowardice and redemption. Set in the 1970s, the narrative captures the fluid lines between right and wrong, ally and enemy, innocence and experience. It鈥檚 a first-rate thriller.
3.聽Perestroika in Paris聽by Jane Smiley
Jane Smiley, who won a Pulitzer Prize for 鈥淎 Thousand Clowns,鈥� has created a charming novel for all ages, told through the eyes of animals and their human friends. Perestroika is a curious racehorse who meets a boy in need of friendship in Paris. Heartwarming escapades and uplifting insights abound in this delightful tale.
4.聽Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder聽by T.A. Willberg
Beneath the streets of 1958 postwar London, a covert detective agency operates to investigate Scotland Yard鈥檚 unsolved mysteries. T.A. Willberg鈥檚 smashing debut follows clever apprentice Marion Lane as she solves a locked-room murder. The book sizzles with suspense, gadgetry, action, and danger.
5.聽Dancing in the Mosque聽by Homeira Qaderi
Growing up in Afghanistan, Homeira Qaderi learned that 鈥渁 good woman was defined as a good mother.鈥� In her new memoir, written to the son who was taken from her arms when she defied patriarchal traditions, she shows both the beauties and terrors of life in her home country. The risks Qaderi takes to fight for women鈥檚 rights 鈥� and the consequences she faced 鈥� are a heartbreaking inspiration.聽
6.聽A Promised Land聽by Barack Obama
The first volume of President Barack Obama鈥檚 memoir covers his early life and career and ends in May 2011 when Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden. This is an even-handed, thoughtful, and deeply personal book by a gifted writer that provides a behind-the-scenes look into the Oval Office and gives readers some idea of what it is like to hold the world鈥檚 most powerful job.
7.聽Wild Minds聽by Reid Mitenbuler
Film buffs will delight in this exploration of the golden age of animation. Surveying everything from Betty Boop to Popeye, author Reid Mitenbuler argues that a number of the medium鈥檚 early classics were bolder and more daring than today鈥檚 animated movies. He paints a delightfully full picture of the artform and its artists.
8.聽Mozart: The Reign of Love聽by Jan Swafford
In this masterfully written biography, Jan Swafford not only presents a richly detailed portrait of one of the greatest classical composers of all time, but debunks many of the myths surrounding the momentous and all-too-short life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The author, who is a composer, brings his insight to bear on his subject.
9.聽Sometimes You Have to Lie聽by Leslie Brody
In this lively, compassionate biography of Louise Fitzhugh, author of the children鈥檚 instant-classic 鈥淗arriet the Spy鈥� series from the 1960s, Leslie Brody sheds light on the remarkable woman behind the books.聽
10.聽Sylvia Pankhurst: Natural Born Rebel聽by Rachel Holmes
Sylvia Pankhurst is best known as a suffragist, famous for enduring multiple imprisonments and brutal force-feedings during the long battle to secure British women the vote. Rachel Holmes鈥� superb biography of the radical activist presents her in full, as an artist, writer, pacifist, anti-fascist, and lifelong proponent of human rights.