Magical Realism

The Magical Realism Collection highlights narratives that present magical or supernatural elements in a realistic way. Often challenging literary conventions, these selections situate elements of fantasy, such as time travel or the ability to communicate with animals, in otherwise believable settings. This Collection features titles from authors who frequently employ magical realism in their narratives, such as Gabriel García Márquez and Haruki Murakami.

Publication year 2000

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Humor, African American Literature, Magical Realism, World History, Historical Fiction

South African novelist Zakes Mda published his satirical work The Heart of Redness in 2000. In the novel, Mda blends history, myth, and realist fiction to portray a South African village over a 150-year span. In 1856, a 15-year-old girl from kwaXhosa named Nongqawuse told her uncle, Mhlakaza, that she had encountered the spirits of two of her ancestors. These spirits told the young girl that if the amaXhosa killed all their cattle, destroyed their... Read The Heart Of Redness Summary

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Nature Versus Nurture, Family, Equality, Community, Sexual Identity

Tags Fantasy, Magical Realism, Romance, LGBTQ+

The House in the Cerulean Sea (2020) is a queer fantasy novel by TJ Klune, Lambda Award-winning author of The Extraordinaires and the Green Creek series. Klune is a queer author whose works often explore supernatural elements. Many mythological species feature in this novel, while other books focus on werewolves, ghosts, and the like. The book explores themes of Nature Versus Nurture, The Perpetuation of Prejudice, and Found Family.Klune’s work, particularly The House in the... Read The House in the Cerulean Sea Summary

Publication year 1982

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Literature, Politics & Government, Family, Order & Chaos

Tags Magical Realism, Latin American Literature, Historical Fiction, Life-Inspired Fiction, World History, Fantasy

The House of the Spirits (1982) is Chilean writer Isabel Allende’s debut novel. The family saga follows the journey of the Trueba family across three generations. Set in an unnamed Latin American country (widely believed to be Chile), the family’s journey is interwoven with the sociopolitical history of their nation and the events that unfold over the span of half a century.Isabel Allende is one of the world’s most widely read Spanish-language authors. First published... Read The House of the Spirits Summary

Publication year 2005

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Religion & Spirituality, Indigenous Identity, Family, Fathers, Colonialism, Politics & Government, Justice

Tags Historical Fiction, Magical Realism, Latin American Literature

Written by Luis Alberto Urrea in 2005, The Hummingbird’s Daughter is a fictional account of the life of Teresa Urrea, a woman whose mystical powers and religious fervor earned her the reputation of a living saint in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Luis Alberto Urrea is a distant cousin of Teresa and grew up hearing about her. He eventually researched her life through his family connections and the communities that she helped. The novel... Read The Hummingbird's Daughter Summary

Publication year 2005

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Friendship

Tags Fantasy, Horror & Suspense, Modern Classic Fiction, Magical Realism, Arts & Culture

Jessamy Harrison is an eight-year-old girl living in a small town in England. Her father is English, and her mother is Nigerian. Jess is a smart, introverted child who likes to spend her time reading books and playing inside. Jess’s parents take her on a trip to Nigeria to visit her extended family. While staying at her grandfather’s compound, Jess sees strange shadows in the windows of the Boys’ Quarters, a building that was once... Read The Icarus Girl Summary

Publication year 2018

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Fate

Tags Modern Classic Fiction, Historical Fiction, Magical Realism, Fantasy

The Immortalists is a 2018 New York Times bestselling novel by Chloe Benjamin. In the Prologue, the four Gold children, Varya, Daniel, Klara, and Simon, visit a Romani fortuneteller named Bruna Costello. Bruna predicts when each of the children will die. The novel’s four parts describe each sibling’s path through life, and, in the end, three of them—Simon, Klara, and Daniel—all die exactly when Bruna predicted.Simon Gold moves to San Francisco after the death of... Read The Immortalists Summary

Publication year 2020

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Good & Evil, Gender Identity, Death

Tags Fantasy, Gender & Feminism, Trauma & Abuse, Religion & Spirituality, LGBTQ+, Age of Enlightenment, Modern Classic Fiction, World History, Historical Fiction, Magical Realism, Romance

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is a historical fantasy novel by the American author V.E. Schwab published in 2020. It chronicles the story of Addie LaRue, an 18th-century Frenchwoman who gains eternal life through a bargain with a demonic entity. However, the deal comes at a great cost: Everybody who meets Addie immediately forgets her. A New York Times bestseller, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue received a 2020 Goodreads Choice Award nomination for... Read The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue Summary

Publication year 2021

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Grief, Love, Memory, Race, Nation, The Past, Animals, Family, Plants, Safety & Danger

Tags Historical Fiction, Magical Realism, Fantasy, Romance, Addiction & Substance Abuse, Food, Trauma & Abuse, European History, World History, Immigration & Refugeeism, LGBTQ+, Love & Sexuality, Military & War, Politics & Government, Science & Nature, Race & Racism, Relationships, Religion & Spirituality, Grief & Death, Modern Classic Fiction

Publication year 2017

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Aging

Tags Realistic Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Magical Realism, Romance, Fantasy

Ruth Hogan’s 2017 debut novel The Keeper of Lost Things is a romance infused with elements of the paranormal and the magical. Hogan, a career civil servant in the UK, was approaching 50 when the book was published. A prolonged recovery from a car accident and then a struggle with cancer gave her the opportunity to devote time to what had been her childhood passion for storytelling. A voracious reader, she had been writing short... Read The Keeper of Lost Things Summary

Publication year 2005

Genre Novel, Fiction

Themes Teamwork, Science & Technology, Order & Chaos, Good & Evil

Tags Fantasy, Horror & Suspense, Action & Adventure, Magical Realism

First published in 2005, Kingdom Keepers: Disney After Dark is a fantasy-adventure for middle-grade readers by Ridley Pearson. Young Finn Whitman and his fellow Disney Hosts each night turn into holograms who visit the Magic Kingdom, where they must defeat a cadre of evil Disney characters trying to break out of the park and take over the world. Winner of the Sunshine State Young Readers Award, the book is the first of more than a... Read The Kingdom Keepers: Disney After Dark Summary

Publication year 1949

Genre Novel, Fiction

Tags Latin American Literature, World History, Historical Fiction, Magical Realism, Classic Fiction

The Kingdom of This World, written by Alejo Carpentier and originally published in 1949, traces events in 20th-century Haiti, beginning in the French colonial period and spanning the lifetime of protagonist Ti Noël. This novella is a work of dark magical realism and tells the story of two attempted rebellions against the French, the eventual reign of King Henri Christophe, the nation’s first Black king, and his downfall. Through Ti Noël’s perspective, the novella shows... Read The Kingdom Of This World Summary

Publication year 1941

Genre Short Story, Fiction

Themes Literature, Hope, Order & Chaos, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Philosophy, Fantasy, Magical Realism, Symbolic Narrative, Latin American Literature, Science Fiction, Philosophy, Classic Fiction

“The Library of Babel” by Jorge Luis Borges is a short story that explores the search for meaning in life, the concept of the infinite, the power of knowledge, and the difference between the human and the divine. Borges is generally categorized as a Postmodern, metafictional, and experimental writer who played with the concept of narrative structure to critique the construction of reality. This work is firmly situated within the speculative fiction genre, weaving together... Read The Library of Babel Summary