--- title: Best Books of 2020 So Far description: From Hilary Mantel's 'The Mirror and the Light' to Erik Larson's 'The Splendid and the Vile.' canonical: https://time.com/5842467/best-books-2020-so-far/ author: Annabel Gutterman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2020-05-30T12:00:31.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:55:58.276Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: The Best Books 2020 So Far og:description: From a biting collection of comedic essays to the final novel in a beloved trilogy og:url: https://time.com/5842467/best-books-2020-so-far/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt08dee50273e6cbeb/698a0e9f457a520de1d64030/best-so-far-2020-books.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Best of the Year So Far: Books og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Best Books 2020 So Far twitter:description: From a biting collection of comedic essays to the final novel in a beloved trilogy twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt08dee50273e6cbeb/698a0e9f457a520de1d64030/best-so-far-2020-books.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Best Books of 2020 So Far  by [Annabel Gutterman](https://time.com/author/annabel-gutterman/)  ## Annabel Gutterman Senior Editor May 30, 2020 12:00 PM UTC   by [Annabel Gutterman](https://time.com/author/annabel-gutterman/)  ## Annabel Gutterman Senior Editor May 30, 2020 12:00 PM UTC The best books of the year so far explore themes of power, perseverance and hope through creative storytelling and glittering prose. Journalist Robert Kolker reports on the strife of an American couple in the 1970s, overwhelmed by their sons’ schizophrenia diagnoses. Poet [Cathy Park Hong](https://time.com/5773086/best-books-february-2020/) establishes herself as an energetic and necessary voice in the dialogue surrounding racism in the U.S. in her nonfiction debut. And [Jenny Offill](https://time.com/5779007/jenny-offill-weather-review/) takes a clever approach to tackling the anxieties that are synonymous with life in the 21st century. These 10 books, from a biting collection of comedic essays to the [final novel in a beloved trilogy](https://time.com/5797396/hilary-mantel-the-mirror-and-the-light/), represent authors at the peak of their craft. Here, alphabetically by author, the best books of 2020 so far. ## **_The Night Watchman_** **, Louise Erdrich**  Though she’s written more than 20 books for adults, [Louise Erdrich](https://time.com/5797582/louise-erdrich-the-night-watchman/)’s latest work is perhaps her most personal. Drawing on her Chippewa heritage, the National Book Award winner constructs a portrait of a community fighting for survival in _The Night Watchman_. The titular character, based on her maternal grandfather, leads the effort against proposed legislation that threatens the rights to his tribe’s land. Erdrich describes the Turtle Mountain Reservation in North Dakota in rich detail and illustrates the lengths that some will go to protect the ones they care for. **Buy Now:** _The Night Watchman_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9780062671189) | [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0062671189/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time-books-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0062671189&linkId=d406d355838dff9e666f21c5d1a9184b) ## **_Cleanness_** **, Garth Greenwell**  The second book from Garth Greenwell appears to feature the same unnamed narrator from his first — a gay American teacher living in the capital of Bulgaria. In nine interlinked stories, Greenwell dissects the expatriate’s relationships with his students, his sexuality and the city of Sofia in an aching examination of intimacy and power. As the narrator reflects on his time abroad before he returns home, Greenwell asks potent questions about how and why we long for love. **Buy Now:** _Cleanness_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9780374124588) | [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0374124582/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time-books-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0374124582&linkId=401f910aa4619c72a34e8bb4b6c4e3ce) ## **_Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning_** **, Cathy Park Hong**  Blending cultural criticism with personal stories, poet Cathy Park Hong analyzes the impact of racism against Asian Americans in her debut nonfiction collection. Her voice is urgent and raw as she unpacks what it’s like to experience prejudice that doesn’t fit into the exact mold of oppression faced by other minorities in the U.S. From reflecting on her childhood in California to her evolving attitude towards the English language, Hong is brutally self-aware and embraces her anger as she captures how she’s struggled to make sense of her identity. **Buy Now:** _Minor Feelings_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9781984820365) | [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1984820362/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time-books-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1984820362&linkId=e6c546f40a43b3accb6f5df7cf123ed1) ## **_Wow, No Thank You_** **., Samantha Irby**  Reading Samantha Irby is a welcome relief from what’s going on in the world, even though she’s picking apart every single aspect of it. “Over the last couple years I have had to learn to live in a house, and that is one of the hardest and most boring things I’ve ever had to do,” she writes in an essay that lists off hilarious questions related to maintaining a home. In another, she mines our obsession with skin care and declares: “I don’t drink water and my blood type is pizza.” Her collection is riddled with punchy lines as she contemplates everything from trying to make new friends in adulthood to working in a television writers’ room for the first time. _Wow, No Thank You._ is signature Irby — honest, dry and the kind of funny that truly induces laughter. **Buy Now:** _Wow, No Thank You._ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9780525563488) | [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07W3J49XM/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time-books-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B07W3J49XM&linkId=9c60b7237164384f4fed3598baaf0df1) ## **_Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family_** **, Robert Kolker**  “Even if just one child has schizophrenia, everything about the internal logic of that family changes,” journalist Rober Kolker writes in his bestselling book, which traces the plight of a Colorado-based family devastated by the mental disorder. By the mid-1970s, six of the 12 Galvin children had been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Kolker traces the family’s suffering in _Hidden Valley Road_, which focuses on how the Galvins were studied to help better understand the disease. Though so much of the story is rooted in tragedy — abuse, violence, death — Kolker’s voice remains empathetic as he balances breaking down the science behind schizophrenia and describing the gutting details of one family’s unthinkable circumstances. **Buy Now:** _Hidden Valley Road_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9780385543767) | [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/038554376X/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time-books-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=038554376X&linkId=623abffebf0f6b2f53a2aed49e2ecfbb) ## **_The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz_** **, Erik Larson**  The latest book from Erik Larson, author of _The Devil in the White City_, is an engrossing account of Winston Churchill’s first year as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. In gripping and propulsive terms, Larson depicts the horrors of Hitler’s bombing campaign, which killed tens of thousands of Britons. Though the end of World War II is no mystery, _The Splendid and the Vile_ reads like a thriller, demanding attention with pages that illuminate the strength of leadership in times of grave crisis and uncertainty. **Buy Now:** _The Splendid and the Vile_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9780385348713) | [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385348711/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time-books-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0385348711&linkId=dc1683cd0af9d71ba5bd14f467eacaed) ## **_The Mirror & the Light_** **, Hilary Mantel**  One of the most anticipated novels of the year — Hilary Mantel’s conclusion to her celebrated _Wolf Hall_ trilogy — lived up to expectations and then some. Beginning in the wake of Anne Boleyn’s death, _The Mirror & the Light_ captures the final years of 16th-century English lawyer Thomas Cromwell, scheming aide to King Henry VIII. The Booker Prize winner masterfully completes her years-long character study of Cromwell, again fusing history and fiction to create a mesmerizing narrative centered on a man whose obsession with power leads him to his brutal, and inevitable, end. **Buy Now:** _The Mirror and the Light_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9780805096606) | [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0805096604/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time-books-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0805096604&linkId=e9584de685b8eca5ffda711d2508b855) ## **_Deacon King Kong_** **, James McBride**  It’s September 1969 in the projects of Brooklyn when a church deacon shoots an ear off a local drug dealer in front of the whole neighborhood. The seemingly random act of violence is just the start of James McBride’s humorous, electric and heartfelt book — his first novel since the 2013 National Book Award winner _The Good Lord Bird_. From the white neighbors to the Latinx and African American witnesses of the crime, McBride introduces a diverse cast of characters to deliver nuanced commentary on race and class in New York City. McBride’s voice is rhythmic and compassionate as he asks how communities come together and support each other in the face of adversity. **Buy Now:** _Deacon King Kong_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9780735216723) | [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/073521672X/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time-books-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=073521672X&linkId=4293f6ef4610a2fc16f6a80107dbe725) ## **_Weather_** **, Jenny Offill**  It would be an understatement to declare that _Weather_, a story fixated on a woman’s anxieties regarding both the mundanities of life and the end of the world, feels prescient. Lizzie Benson, the narrator of Jenny Offill’s kaleidoscopic third novel, is increasingly worried about everything from her young son’s experience at a new school to the impact of climate change on the planet. The absorbing power of Offill’s spare but striking prose grounds the book’s frenetic structure, culminating in an unnerving look at a world where a constant flow of disquieting information can’t be escaped. **Buy Now:** _Weather_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9780385351102) | [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0385351100/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time-books-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0385351100&linkId=f66bd3b94eef86298c2c87a957d63afb) ## **_Run Me to Earth_** **, Paul Yoon**  In _Run Me to Earth_, three orphaned teenagers linked by grief live in a bombed-out hospital in 1960s Laos, where they assist a doctor and transport supplies to those in need. The coming-of-age premise leads to something much larger as Paul Yoon propels his young characters into adulthood, where they’re haunted by the pain of their shared past. Yoon seamlessly connects his characters’ storylines over time and across continents, all the while highlighting the subtle yet piercing tensions that accompany life after childhood trauma. **Buy Now:** _Run Me to Earth_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9781501154041) | [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1501154044/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time-books-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1501154044&linkId=ac49031a7e8b4ce53ce90fe100138eda) These are independent reviews of the products mentioned, but TIME receives a commission when purchases are made through affiliate links at no additional cost to the purchaser. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5842467/best-books-2020-so-far/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5842467/best-books-2020-so-far/"},"headline":"The Best Books of 2020 So Far","datePublished":"2020-05-30T12:00:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:55:58.276Z","description":"From Hilary Mantel's 'The Mirror and the Light' to Erik Larson's 'The Splendid and the Vile.'","url":"https://time.com/5842467/best-books-2020-so-far/","keywords":["Books","E-Commerce","list"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt08dee50273e6cbeb/698a0e9f457a520de1d64030/best-so-far-2020-books.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Annabel Gutterman","jobTitle":"Senior Editor","url":"https://time.com/author/annabel-gutterman/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt08dee50273e6cbeb/698a0e9f457a520de1d64030/best-so-far-2020-books.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Best of the Year So Far: Books","caption":"","creditText":"","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/books/","name":"Books"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5842467/best-books-2020-so-far/","name":"The Best Books of 2020 So Far"}}]}] ```