Books Update: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie reviews Barack Obama

The novelist, whose books include "Americanah," reviews Obama's "A Promised Land."

View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story November 27, 2020 Joan Wong; Photographs by Angelo Merendino/Getty Images; David L. Ryan, via The Boston Globe, via Getty Images Dear Reader, “A Promised Land,” the first volume of Barack Obama’s presidential memoirs, is one of the biggest publishing events of the year. “Dreams From My Father,” Obama’s first memoir, was a huge critical and commercial success. Even before Obama left office, talk began about what a book by him might eventually reveal or not reveal about his time in office. That interest only increased after the runaway success of former first lady Michelle Obama’s memoir, “Becoming.” And now finally, here it is. But who to review it? For us, the answer is Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who writes about Obama’s book on our cover this week in her first review for The Times. Adichie, the author of several novels, including “Americanah,” one of our 10 Best Books of 2013, brings both a global perspective (she is Nigerian) and an American one (she spends half her time in this country). And of course, she brings her literary sensibility to reading a book by a former president who cares very deeply about the writing itself. Adichie last wrote for our pages in another first — the first short story we commissioned about a presidential election. It feels more like a decade since we ran that story, “The Arrangements,” in the heated primary run-up to the 2016 election, on the cover of our Fourth of July issue. Please stay in touch and let us know what you think — whether it’s about this newsletter, our reviews, our podcast, our literary calendar, our Instagram or what you’re reading. We read and ponder all of it. I even write back, albeit belatedly. You can email me at books@nytimes.com. Pamela Paul Editor of The New York Times Book Review @PamelaPaulNYT Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT Like this email? Sign-up here or forward it to your friends. Have a suggestion or two on how we can improve it? Let us know at newsletters@nytimes.com. Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. THE BOOK REVIEW PODCAST Talking About the 10 Best Books of 2020 On a special episode of the podcast, taped live, editors from The New York Times Book Review discuss this year’s outstanding fiction and nonfiction. FICTION Fiction Jo Nesbo’s New Book Stars an Antisocial Loner. It’s Not Harry Hole. There’s butchery and blood aplenty in “The Kingdom,” but no sign of Nesbo’s beloved police detective — just two brothers who have been up to no good. By Charles McGrath Fiction A Climate-Crisis Novel Offers True-to-Life Snapshots of Survival “Stillicide,” a novel by Cynan Jones, imagines a world where an extended drought has transformed daily life. By Alec Nevala-Lee Fiction Ismail Kadare Attributes His Writer’s Gift to His Mother Kadare’s autobiographical novel “The Doll” is part remembrance, part detective story about how his mother shaped his own life. By Elisabeth Zerofsky The Shortlist Queer Exile: Three Novels About Émigrés, Lovers and Family “The Thirty Names of Night,” “You Exist Too Much” and “A Country for Dying” feature characters who leave home and long for new identities. By Rayyan Al-Shawaf Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT NONFICTION Nonfiction Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on Barack Obama’s ‘A Promised Land’ This first volume of the former president’s memoirs brims with warmth, humor and introspection. By Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie nonfiction A Historian Explains What Civilization Owes to War In “War: How Conflict Shaped Us,” Margaret MacMillan examines the impact of war, both bad and good. By Dexter Filkins nonfiction Why We Let White-Collar Criminals Get Away With Their Crimes In “Big Dirty Money,” Jennifer Taub, a law professor, shows how the justice system caters to wealthy white-collar criminals at the expense of American taxpayers. By James B. Stewart nonfiction A Salvadoran-American Assembles the Fragments of a Violent Cultural History “Unforgetting,” by the journalist Roberto Lovato, examines the long and bloody relationship between the United States and El Salvador through the prism of his family. By Carolyn Forché Nonfiction The Harsh Realities of Being Indigenous in North America Two new memoirs, Alicia Elliott’s “A Mind Spread Out on the Ground” and Toni Jensen’s “Carry,” sketch harrowing portraits of Native life today. By Priyanka Kumar Nonfiction Crisscrossing the Country on Highways Big and Small In “The National Road,” Tom Zoellner set out to discover what connects us as Americans at a time when divisions run deep. By Jody Rosen nonfiction The War Crime No One Wants to Talk About “Our Bodies, Their Battlefields,” by Christina Lamb, a British foreign correspondent, provides one of the first exhaustive examinations of rape as a weapon of war. By Judith Matloff Continue reading the main story ADVERTISEMENT CHILDREN’S BOOKS Children’s Books An Eco-Fable From the Author of ‘The Magicians’ In Lev Grossman’s first middle grade novel, “The Silver Arrow,” a magic steam train ride with talking animals gives a young girl a sense of purpose. By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold Children’s Books What if Peter Rabbit and Mr. McGregor Had Joined Forces? In “Alice’s Farm,” a brave cottontail and her brother secretly help a city family succeed at farming to save their bunny habitat from developers. By Cynthia Kadohata FEATURES By the Book Claudia Rankine Wishes More Writers Thought About Whiteness “Racist ideas continue to shape our consciousness.” nonfiction Assaults and Occupations in Wartime Two new books look at men in battle and civilians under occupation. By Thomas E. Ricks Sketchbook What if There Were a Worst-Seller List? The graphic novelist Ben Katchor imagines what it would take to put together a weekly list of the least appealing books. By Ben Katchor New & Noteworthy Poetry, From Eavan Boland to the African-American Canon A selection of recent poetry titles; plus, a peek at what our colleagues around the newsroom are reading. Walt Whitman, Parenting Books and Other Letters to the Editor Readers respond to recent issues of the Sunday Book Review. 11 New Books We Recommend This Week Suggested reading from critics and editors at The New York Times. Inside the List In ‘This Is Your Time,’ Ruby Bridges Urges a New Generation to Keep Fighting The trailblazer’s best seller is intended for a middle grade audience, but her message of persistence is relevant to people of all ages. By Elisabeth Egan New in Paperback: ‘Invisible Americans’ and ‘Hunter’s Moon’ Six new paperbacks to check out this week. By Jennifer Krauss Best Sellers Combined Print & E-Book Fiction Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction Hardcover Fiction Hardcover Nonfiction Paperback Trade Fiction Paperback Nonfiction All Lists New International Books Illustration by Thoka Maer Your sneak preview of books coming out in 2020 from around the world. Get globetrotting. Continue reading the main story Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. You received this email because you signed up for Books from The New York Times. To stop receiving these emails, unsubscribe or manage your email preferences. 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