Magical realism is often linked to Latin-American literature, particularly the works of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Jorge Luis Borges, and Isabel Allende. More broadly, however, magical realism falls into the fantasy genre, even though it is more speculative in nature. In a nutshell, the subgenre injects the fantastical into everyday mundane settings. More to the point, it does so and these fantastical elements are considered normal and equally mundane and expected.
While the definition and boundaries seem murky and unclear, magical realism is not to be confused with contemporary fantasy. Due to its origins in Latin American literature, novels falling into this category often use the fantastical acts contained within their pages to process trauma, grief, and turbulence. The books included in this list touch on many of those themes. We have finding love and making a life in a post-war era. We have family secrets and loss. We have racism in the rural American south during the Civil Rights era. The way these difficult themes and topics are explored through magical realism carry the spirit of the literary category first pioneered by Latin American authors.
So if you’re unfamiliar with this important speculative subgenre or only know of its literary giants like Marquez or Allende, here are some magical realism books to broaden your horizons.
Walking the Labyrinth
Molly Travers has spent her life working odd jobs until one day, she meets a detective trying to solve a murder. Specifically, the murder of a family member she never knew she had. It turns out Molly is descended from the Allalies, a family of illusionists who came to the United States in the first half of the twentieth century and formed a vaudeville troop. But more than that, the Allalies were once members of the occultist group, the Order of the Labyrinth. Now, Molly must unravel the mystery of her ancestry, a murdered family member who may have been killed by another family member, and the wonder of everyday magic.
Boy's Life
Many readers probably best know Robert McCammon for his horror novels, but he’s written in far more genres than that. Set in the 1960s rural south, Boy’s Life blends nostalgia, the absurd, and the magical with McCammon’s signature stunning prose and framed through the perspective of twelve-year-old Cory. Filled with Cory’s daily adventures, encounters with other denizens of the town of Zephyr, and unexpected magic, the book is tied together by a singular mystery. One day, Cory and his father witness a car fall into a lake, but when Cory’s father dives in to save the driver, he discovers the man is long since dead. And it is the identity of the killer that lays at the heart of the novel.
After Alice
Most readers likely associate Gregory Maguire with Wicked, the story of the Wicked Witch of the West from Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz. In After Alice, he tackles another classic, Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. Here, it asks the question of what happened after Alice fell down the rabbit hole. How did the world she left behind react? It follows Ada, who falls down the rabbit hole herself and embarks on a quest to find her missing friend and bring her home.
The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope
In the waning days of World War II, Evelyn chooses not to follow in her family’s footsteps and work at the cotton mill. Instead, she takes over responsibility of her aunt’s farm in rural North Carolina. Having watched her aunt manage the property, Evelyn knows exactly what to do.
That all changes when a winter rainstorm comes and leaves behind a disfigured person in the mud. Evelyn assumes the person is a soldier, a scarred veteran from the war. However, she couldn’t be more wrong…
The Empire of Ice Cream
Jeffrey Ford’s second short-story collection opens with the observation that we lose our sense of wonder as we get older. Perhaps there’s some truth to that. Thankfully, Ford writes stories to force us to accept the fantastic and bizarre. The titular story is about a sheltered young man with synesthesia and who can conjure images of people simply by experiencing coffee. Other stories feature a faerie who lives in sandcastles built by children and Charon, the legendary ferryman of the dead, who decides to take a vacation.
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake: A Novel
Nine-year-old Rose has an amazing gift. Through her sense of taste, she can discern other people’s emotions, as well as their actions. But the gift has a downside. A pretty big one. Sensing everyone else’s emotions can be overwhelming for an adult. Imagine what it must be like for a child. Overwhelmed by emotions not her own, poor Rose is bombarded with her family’s secrets: their sadness, their infidelity, their journey into maturity. It’s a lot to ask of a child to process these emotions, let alone understand them.
Wild Beauty
For decades, the women of the Nomeolvides family have tended the lush gardens of La Pradera. Under their skilled hands, the gardens have flourished, drawing people from all over the world. But nourishing magnificent blooms isn’t the only thing the Nomeolvides women are known for. Their lovers also vanish. Sometimes, they disappear into thin air before your very eyes. Other times, they simply walk away and leave, never to be seen again.
Then, one day, a mysterious boy named Fel appears in their gardens. His presence raises many questions—namely, does his appearance portend the return of the Nomeolvides women’s missing lovers? Or does it herald something darker and less hopeful?
