Publication year 2018
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Mothers, Loyalty & Betrayal, Truth & Lies
Tags Fantasy, Fairy Tale & Folklore, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Magical Realism
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.
The Hazel Wood
The Heart Of Redness
The House in the Cerulean Sea
The House of the Spirits
The Hummingbird's Daughter
The Hurricane Wars
The Husbands
The Icarus Girl
The Immortalists
The Invisible Hour
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
The Island of Missing Trees
The Keeper of Lost Things
The Key to Extraordinary
The Kingdom Keepers: Disney After Dark
The Kingdom Of This World
The Last of the Moon Girls
The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse
The Last White Man
The Library of Babel
Publication year 2018
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Mothers, Loyalty & Betrayal, Truth & Lies
Tags Fantasy, Fairy Tale & Folklore, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Magical Realism
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 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Emotions/Behavior: Courage, Hate & Anger, Revenge, Gender Identity, Coming of Age, Self Discovery, Colonialism, Politics & Government, War
Tags Fantasy, Magical Realism, Romance, New Adult
Publication year 2024
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Love, Regret, Gender Identity, Friendship, Marriage
Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Magical Realism, Romance, Fantasy
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 2023
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Perseverance, Grief, Love, The Past, Mothers, Literature, Emotions/Behavior: Courage
Tags Historical Fiction, Magical Realism, Fantasy
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 2016
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Family, Self Discovery, Community
Tags Fantasy, Mystery & Crime Fiction, Magical Realism, Action & Adventure
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 2020
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Forgiveness, Grief, Hate & Anger, Love, Gender Identity, Grandparents, Mothers, Self Discovery, Equality, Religion & Spirituality
Tags Mystery & Crime Fiction, Magical Realism
Publication year 2001
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Religion & Spirituality, Indigenous Identity, Forgiveness, Memory, Regret, Revenge, Femininity, Masculinity, Death, The Past, Appearance & Reality, Colonialism, Community, Music, Truth & Lies
Tags Historical Fiction, Magical Realism
Publication year 2022
Genre Novel, Fiction
Themes Race, Grief, Love, Politics & Government, Conflict, Fear
Tags Magical Realism, Race & Racism, Internet & Social Media, Science Fiction, Modern Classic Fiction, Fantasy
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