The collection debuted at #3 on The New York Times Hardcover Fiction Bestselling List.[10] During the week of February 24, 2013, it reached #2 on that same list.[11]
Critical reception for the book has been highly positive,[12] with the Philadelphia City Paper stating that although the stories didn't have a sense of cohesiveness, "the stories seemed tied together at the brain, like the poor unfortunates in one of the best stories in December."[13] The List praised some of the stories in the book, but wrote that the "overall effect is rather insubstantial".[14] Kirkus Reviews and Booklist both gave the compilation a starred review, with Booklist writing that the set had "unpredictable, stealthily funny, and complexly affecting stories of ludicrousness, fear, and rescue".[15][16] Entertainment Weekly gave the collection an A, saying that Saunders "is the master of joy bombs: little explosions of grin-stimulating genius that he buries throughout his deeply thoughtful, endlessly entertaining flights of imagination" and "offers an irresistible mix of humor and humanity."[17]
Reviewing the book for New York Journal of Books, Charles Holdefer wrote that it "shows the writer in excellent form and will surely rank as one of his best books to date. The opening story, "Victory Lap," is one of the strongest the author has ever written. Hilarious and alarming, it’s a tale of children in extreme danger that manages to avoid the noxious clichés often accompanying the genre. It’s also a technical marvel, compressing three distinct points of view and individual backstories into a very small space. The bold shifts of consciousness here positively sizzle."[18]
In a January 2013 cover story about the author, The New York Times Magazine called Tenth of December "The best book you'll read this year."[19] In 2019, The Guardian ranked it the 22nd best book since 2000.[20]
