Keen On America Bethanne's Best Books of 2025: Where Fact & Fiction Blur
Dec 18, 2025
Bethanne Patrick, a renowned book critic for the Los Angeles Times, shares her favorite reads of 2025, emphasizing the fascinating intersection of fact and fiction. She discusses Caroline Fraser's gripping non-fiction, *Murderland*, linking 1970s serial killers to environmental issues. Patrick also explores Ian McEwan's dual narrative of dystopia and hope, and the survival tale of Maurice and Marilyn Bailey. Rounding out her picks, she highlights the complexities of identity in Katie Kitamura's work and James Baldwin’s impactful love life as portrayed by Nicholas Boggs.
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Toxins And True Crime Blur Reality
- Caroline Fraser links 1970s serial killers to environmental toxins, notably airborne lead from mining and smelting.
- Bethanne Patrick argues this blurs true crime and fiction by showing how atmosphere alters behavior and perception.
Dual-Timeline Shows Human Agency
- Ian McEwan's novel mixes dystopian future scenes with earlier realistic halves to explore human agency.
- Patrick finds hope in how people act in the present despite apocalyptic settings.
A Nun's Convent For An Atheist Protagonist
- A 60-something Australian narrator leaves her marriage to live in a contemplative convent despite being an atheist.
- Charlotte Wood's Stoneyard Devotional uses odd events—a corpse and a plague of mice—to beat back despair.