I just finished “The Book of Doors,” by Gareth Brown, and I absolutely loved it. It reminded me of another book I read (and absolutely loved) a couple of years ago: “The Cartographers,” by Peng Shepherd. I’m thinking magical realism might just be my jam. 🙂
What else can I read in this vein?
by tentacurls
3 Comments
Macunaima by Mario de Andrade, a Brazilian classic that blends together different stories from Amazonian mythology.
Life of Pi, Piranesi, The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida.
100 Years of Solitude by Jorge Luis Borges is considered by many to be *the* magical realism book. It’s about a cursed family. It can be a bit of a tough read (though the writing is beautiful).
If you want a love story with some angst, I recommend Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel. It’s about a young woman who can’t marry the love of her life.
If you want horror/thriller, I recommend Fever Dream by Samata Schweblin.
If you want magical realism that is all beautiful, descriptive, magical vibes, I recommend Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. It’s about two magicians and a circus.
And the while not magical realism, based on the books you mentioned, you might like The Secret of Lost Things by Sheridan Hay. It’s about a weird book store, the weird people that work there, and a very rare book. It has that slightly disorienting aspect of a magical realism but nothing magical happens.
You might also like The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert which is about a once popular fairy tale book that becomes super rare as copies go missing/gets destroyed and a young girl (the author’s granddaughter, actually) needs to track down a copy to save her mother. This one is a straight up fantasy though because she ends up having to go into a magical forest.