My Favourite Magical Realism Books! 🪄📚

[@layleigh1701]

build your house around my body is my favorite book i have been searching for something similar for ages !!

[@apoetreadstowrite]

Ah yes, I love magical realism - fun recommendations. Thanks for the bookish inspiration.

[@charlottemolloy]

You are so welcome! 😁

[@Bessie-On-Wheels]

This One Sky Day Leone Ross. Caribbean again loved it

[@thisisveryannoying]

I love magical realism. Can add Kafka and Bulgakov's "Master and Margarita" to the list.

[@spexi513]

I’ve been really digging this genre lately and this video topic is right on time for me . 📚🪱💚

[@charlottemolloy]

Woo! So pleased that lovely coincidence happened! 💕

[@hillarylevi6149]

My favorite genera, and yet I've never read any of these!!! Thank you so much for all the recs! My favorite magical realism book is Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin, which is set in a very snowy and foggy turn-of-the century NYC, complete with a horse who might be able to fly and an upstate town no one outside it seems to be able to remember. Thank you so much for another great video.

[@charlottemolloy]

You're welcome Hilary! Hope you enjoy the recs! 😁

[@BookwormAdventureGirl]

Great list! I’ve read The Ocean at the End of the Lane. The Mermaid of Black Conch is on my shelf waiting patiently. I’ve also been interested in Build Your House. Great to hear your thoughts about all of these. 😊💙

[@mary_yankulova]

I love magical realism❤ My favourite 2 are “The house of spirits” by Aliende and “100 years of solitude” by Markes.

[@user-hw9dz4ui9i]

The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass and Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie are my two favourite magical realism novels

[@kimswhims8435]

I first came across magical realism done by Latin American authors, Allande, Esquivel, Gabo. Australians, particularly indigenous Australians do a terrific form of magical realism, The Swan Book by Alexis Wright, Taboo by Kim Scott and The Yield by Tara June Winch come to mind. Tassie authors like Richard Flanagan's Living Sea of the Waking Dream, Robbie Arnott's The Rain Heron and an early one of Heather Rose's The River Wife (2009) are brilliant. Tim Winton also uses some magical realism in my favourite of his, Cloud Street. I quite enjoy Salman Rushdie's form of magical realism, quite enjoyed Victory City recently. A Persian form of magical realism, The Enlightenment of the Greengage Tree by Azar Shokoofeh is a favourite of mine and last year's Booker Winner, The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida was also terrific.

[@charlottemolloy]

Great to hear Kim! Especially as I also loved Victory City and The Enlightenment of the greengage tree! 😁

[@rachelknowles7363]

Magical realism is my favourite genre. And therefore Haruki Murakami my favourite author. In particular The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and Kafka On The Shore. Thanks for these recommendations for new reading.

[@charlottemolloy]

You're welcome Rachel! Amazing to hear that MR is your favorite genre. The Wind up bird chronicle is on my tbr to get to soon! 😁

[@rachelknowles7363]

Wind-Up Bird is my favourite book of all time 😊 look forward to hearing your thoughts on it

[@Tmc513]

New subscriber🍀, LOVE your energy- not speaking like you get paid by the word! Love the recs 🎉

[@charlottemolloy]

Haha thank you Tammy- yes I'm definitely not! 😂🍀

[@dorothydekok]

I've just found your channel. Definitely coming back. 😊

[@charlottemolloy]

Thanks so much! 😁

[@osonhodeleon]

I love Magical Realism novels.

[@anaplatet5693]

Look for Gabriel García Márquez and Alejo Carpentier

[@LanaCelebic]

The only one I read from the books you mentioned was 'The Ocean at the End of the Lane', loved it. My favourite magical realism book still reamains 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I'd also recommend 'Eva Luna' and 'The House of the Spirits' by Isabel Allende. 'The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle' by Haruki Murakami is also one that comes to my mind. 'Creatures of Passage' by Morowa Yejide was one of the Women's Prize nominees that I enjoyed, I think it was nominated in 2021. It's great to hear that someone enjoyes magical realism on booktube. I've heard a lot of booktubers talk about how they don't enjoy it at all and I kind of got the feeling that it wasn't a very popular genre these days. Thanks for all the recommendations!😊

[@charlottemolloy]

Well you've found the right channel! Magical realism is popular with me, and I've had 3 5* magical realism reads so far this year! House of spirits, Eva luna and the wind-up bird chronicle are all currently on my TBR so I am really pleased that you recommend them! Thanks for watching Lana! 😁

[@bookofdust]

Like many, my first exposure to MR were the novels of Marquez and Allende, and it was especially with the short stories of Marquez of A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings and The Incredible Sad Tale of Innocent Erendira and her Heartless Grandmother being the ones that completely locked in my basic understanding of what it was and they remain my touchstones. As much as I enjoy it within the Latin American literature, it seems to add an extra bit of frisson when it comes from outside that literature and can seem shocking or breathtaking in its use. Piranesi immediately fell into that regard just in reading the blurb, and it did not disappoint. When people asked for similar books I always brought up Life of Pi, which I think is very much a Read Alike and best understood as MR. As another poster mentioned Creatures of Passage from last year’s Women Prize was just so wonderful and I was sad it fell by the wayside so quickly and deserved more of an embrace by readers. The book that haunts me most from last year is Our Wives Under the Sea, which comes with the Horror genre label, but I feel should be MR. One thing I find of interest with my choices is the intersection of trauma and MR, which does appear very much in the Latin America literature, but seems to be where I find it (or am somehow drawn to it) in the ones that have impacted me the most. I’ve always been fascinated how the mind at times of severe trauma will try to protect ourselves from the harshness or reality of a situation or event. MR becomes an escape and a coping mechanism as if it’s actually more easy to believe the fanciful make believe of something magical, then face the reality of the horror in front of us. The mind can be kind.

[@charlottemolloy]

Wow I just want to say I loved reading through your comment, deeply thoughtful and insightful. I couldn't agree more with you about how instrumental storytelling and magical realist elements are in human beings understanding their experiences and protecting from trauma. So thank you for stopping by my channel and sharing 💕

[@bookish-bedlam]

Would you categorize "Whale" as magical realism?

[@charlottemolloy]

Yes absolutely- not featured here though as this was filmed long before reading that book 😁

[@ianp9086]

My top magical realism books have to be 100 years of solitude by Garcia Marquez and the Tin Drum by Gunter Grass. You are right that it is easy to get wrong and these two use MR to normalise the horrors in their world and make the normal extraordinary. These two are among my all time favourites but some MR I really couldn’t stand - House of the Spirits is one of those (one star!).

[@charlottemolloy]

Great point! With 5* and 1* reviews I'll be interested to see what I think of House of Spirits

[@rebecca.reader]

Thanks Charlotte, you have some fabulous recommendations here. Build Your House Around My Body and The Ocean at the End of the Lane are some of my favourites too. And a reminder to pick up The Mermaid of Black Conch....I need to read it ASAP!! My recommendation for you , for magical realism would be When We Were Birds by Ayanna Lloyd Banwo....have you read it? I can't remember if I have seen it on your channel, but if not , I highly recommend!

[@charlottemolloy]

I haven't read it Rebecca, thanks for the recommendation! Hope you enjoy Black Conch! 😁