May’s Best Reviewed Nonfiction

Herta Müller’s The Village on the Edge of the World, Siri Hustvedt’s Ghost Stories, and Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw’s Backtalker all feature among May’s best reviewed books.

Brought to you by Book Marks, Lit Hub’s home for book reviews.

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1. The Village on the Edge of the World: Writing and Surviving in Ceausescu’s Romania by Herta Müller
(Pegasus)

8 Rave • 1 Positive

“Superb … Conducted by Müller’s editor, Angelika Klammer, and skillfully translated by Kate McNaughton, these interviews trace a compelling trajectory. I was rapt, following a child who eats mouldy plums and plants, has laughing fits and feels desperate to belong, watching her grow into a defiant and resilient woman determined to break free.”

–Malcolm Forbes (The Telegraph)

2. Ghost Stories by Siri Hustvedt
(Simon and Schuster)

6 Rave • 3 Positive

“Hustvedt writes so intimately about their physical and intellectual companionship that she makes you feel, in a way not all memoirists can, the dimensions of the crater he left behind.”

–Dwight Garner (The New York Times

3. Dog Days by Emily LaBarge
(Transit)

7 Rave • 1 Positive

“It’s a testament to LaBarge’s gifts as a writer that she can make even the most complex and cerebral ideas feel urgent and alive.”

–Jennifer Szalai (The New York Times)

4. Mighty Real: A History of LGBTQ Music, 1969-2000 Cover by Barry Walters
(Viking)

6 Rave • 1 Positive

“Meticulously researched and entertainingly written … Walters has written a wide-ranging, somewhat idiosyncratic—but thoroughly readable—slice of Americana that is absolutely not to be missed by pop culture mavens, LGBTQ+ readers, or anyone who wants to know how the music business finally came out of the closet.”

–Thane Tierney (BookPage)

5. Backtalker by Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw
(Simon and Schuster)

5 Rave • 2 Positive

“Written with clarity and precision built by Williams Crenshaw’s deep expertise on race and gender politics, and sharpened by the constant defense for the need for both to be discussed, the memoir is both grounded and resolute.”

–Chanda Daniels (Hippocampus)