The 10 Best Magical Realism Books
High fantasy? Takes place in an alternate magical world. Low fantasy? Takes place in our world but features magical elements. We all in agreement. Dope. Alright, here goes. These are the 10 Best Magical Realism aka Low Fantasy books ever.
The Satanic Verses
Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses got the author in a boatload of trouble. The book was banned in the U.S. by title alone, it was deemed heretical to the tenants of Islam by Ayatollah Ruhollah Musavi Khomein of Iran, who issued a fatwa against the author calling for his murder. Why? The book is a rhapsodic recount of Islamic history and myth, where plane crash survivor Gabriel takes on the aspect of the Islamic angel Jibreel (the angel Gabriel in Christianity) and is whisked between the material and the supernatural planes. It must be read to be believed.
Beloved
Toni Morrison’s Beloved tells the tale of Sethe, a woman who escaped slavery and fled to the North during the Civil War. Sethe has a skeleton in the closet: her daughter Beloved. In order to free Beloved from a life of slavery, she murdered the child as an act of mercy. Now Beloved’s ghost haunts Sethe, who is unable to let go of her traumatic past. It’s a novel about the lingering trauma that these old American horrors on the psyches of those who experienced them, and the difficulty of letting it go.
One Hundred Years of Solitude
Gabriel García Márquez’ One Hundred Years of Solitude is lousy with magical stuff! It’s an epic novel that takes place over seven generations of the Buendía, who are essentially the original Enchanted Madrigals. The family and the people of the fictional town of Macondo deal with all sorts of magic things in their day to day: flying carpets, prophetic visions, and people who have lived for centuries. This book is a hallmark of the genre.
Big Fish
If you thought that Hollywood could come up with a story as wonderful and whimsical as Big Fish all on its own, you were wrong. Before it was a staple of magical realism in film, it was a literary staple of the genre! The plot centers around Edward Bloom, a charismatic teller of tall tales, and his adult son William who is attempting to distinguish the fact from the fiction in his father’s legacy. Old Eddy has seen more wonders in a country mile than most see in a lifetime. Giants, witches, werewolf circus performers, and one giant monster fish that got away.
The Stand
While many would say that The Stand is a horror novel, many are wrong. The story starts as horror, sure. 99.9% of the human population has been wiped out after a bio-engineered super-flu escapes from government containment. But then the survivors start having…. visions. Those inclined toward evil see the dark shadow of a man in black, calling them to build an empire in Vegas, while the good few see visions of the oldest living woman in America, who may or may by chosen by God to bestow upon them a holy mission.
American Gods
Neil Gaiman’s American Gods is about a recently released felon named Shadow who ends up teaming up with enigmatic con-man Mr. Wednesday in an effort to reunite folklore gods scattered across America. See, when people emigrated to America from other countries, they left their gods behind them. Their divine powers diminished, these gods had no choice by to follow after their former worshippers and settle in the melting pot. But perhaps someday the lost gods of America will rise up to reclaim their divinity once more!
Gods of Jade and Shadow
Gods of Jade and Shadow is a Silvia Moreno-Garcia novel that is steeped in Mayan folklore. Set in 1920’s Mexico, a young woman named Casiopea Tun ends up freeing the Mayan god of death Hun-Kamé from imprisonment, and the pair team up to help restore the deposed god to his divine throne. But Hun-Kamé isn’t the only god that walks the earth, and the duo will have to contend with gods and spirits that world rather the old god of death stay bereft of the throne for good.
The House of the Spirits
Isabel Allende’s The House of Spirits is a generation spanning novel that centers around a family in Chile. The young daughter of the family is somewhat of an anomaly. She’s got psychic powers, and she’s ready to use them. She isn’t the only magical member of the household. Telepathy, premonitions of the future, there’s all sorts of powers at play here. The family will have to use them all if they hope to survive the political turmoil and cultural revolution that lies in the not too distant future.
Like Water for Chocolate
Laura Esquivel’s Like Water for Chocolate is set in 20th century Mexico, and centers around a young woman named Tita de la Garza. Tita is one hell of a cook. Her food is so divine that she able to use it to supernaturally influences the emotions and actions of those who eat it. Her dishes are influenced by the feelings that she felt when she cooked them, and right now, her food is making people sad. Her tyrant mom isn’t allowing her to marry her true love Pedro and instead matches him up with Tita’s sister. Pedro’s love for Tita remains undying however, as every time he eats her cooking, her love for him infused into the food reignites his burning passions.
The Night Circus
Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus revolves around the lives of two magicians, Celia and Marco, who are locked in an eternal illusionist competition as they perform in Le Cirque des Rêves, a traveling circus that only performs at night. Their bitter magician rivalry is only made more complicated when the pair begin to slowly fall for one another. While their magic tricks might be illusions, the circus that the pair are bound to seems to deft the laws of reality. If you’re looking for a fantastical circus themed enemies to lovers story, look no further.
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