Probably A hundred years of solitude by Garcia Marquez. I read it many years ago but really enjoyed it
NoordZeeNorthSea on
one hundred years of solitude
AlienMagician7 on
most of alice hoffman’s output, and i know it’s much spoken about until people are sick of it, but i feel practical magic does a lovely job of bringing magical realism to an modern day setting. for that reason it’s my fave book whenever the genre is mentioned
yawaespi on
the wind-up bird chronicle by murakami haruki
it’s a mix between
modern events about a man who’s cat disappears, followed by his wife leaving too which quickly devolves into a lot of magical realism which can be interpreted in many ways
and
a more historical side about manchuria and the war between russia and japan and both these different times are parallels of each other and both feature a “wind-up bird”
it’s hard to describe the whole book and it goes in many directions and everything feels very dream-like
the thing i like about this story is that a lot of the way you interpret it comes from metaphors and parts of the story that are introduced in the first third of the book and you always have these things in the back of your mind while reading the rest
its quite violent both physically and sexually and was extremely uncomfortable to read, but at the same time so much of these horrible events felt somewhat dispassionate in a way which is what gives it that very dreamy feeling
iinntt on
Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo, the one that started magical realism altogether and the book that both Borges and García Marquez wished to have written.
throwaway_298653259 on
Chistopher Priest’s work has stayed with me. Inverted World, A Dream of Wessex (both novellas), The Prestige, and The Separation.
Quite dark and weird!
Edit to add that it mostly tips over into scifi, but you can’t really be sure. Priest himself and some reviewers seemed to prefer the term ‘slipstream’ – but I’d just call it surreal personally.
FloridaFlamingoGirl on
I was recently really impressed with Piranesi, the setting is surreal in a way that really does feel like a dream
Allthatisthecase- on
For me, Love in the Time of Cholera slightly edges out 100 years of Solitude. Wind up Bird Chronicle ain’t too shabby either .
13 Comments
Jitterbug Perfume
I cannot choose one favorite but it’s between:
House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina García
Probably A hundred years of solitude by Garcia Marquez. I read it many years ago but really enjoyed it
one hundred years of solitude
most of alice hoffman’s output, and i know it’s much spoken about until people are sick of it, but i feel practical magic does a lovely job of bringing magical realism to an modern day setting. for that reason it’s my fave book whenever the genre is mentioned
the wind-up bird chronicle by murakami haruki
it’s a mix between
modern events about a man who’s cat disappears, followed by his wife leaving too which quickly devolves into a lot of magical realism which can be interpreted in many ways
and
a more historical side about manchuria and the war between russia and japan and both these different times are parallels of each other and both feature a “wind-up bird”
it’s hard to describe the whole book and it goes in many directions and everything feels very dream-like
the thing i like about this story is that a lot of the way you interpret it comes from metaphors and parts of the story that are introduced in the first third of the book and you always have these things in the back of your mind while reading the rest
its quite violent both physically and sexually and was extremely uncomfortable to read, but at the same time so much of these horrible events felt somewhat dispassionate in a way which is what gives it that very dreamy feeling
Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo, the one that started magical realism altogether and the book that both Borges and García Marquez wished to have written.
Chistopher Priest’s work has stayed with me. Inverted World, A Dream of Wessex (both novellas), The Prestige, and The Separation.
Quite dark and weird!
Edit to add that it mostly tips over into scifi, but you can’t really be sure. Priest himself and some reviewers seemed to prefer the term ‘slipstream’ – but I’d just call it surreal personally.
I was recently really impressed with Piranesi, the setting is surreal in a way that really does feel like a dream
For me, Love in the Time of Cholera slightly edges out 100 years of Solitude. Wind up Bird Chronicle ain’t too shabby either .
People of Paper by Salvador Plascencia
or
Louis de Bernieres’ Latin Trilogy
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
The End of Mr Y, Scarlett Thomas
A Tale for the Time Being, Ruth Ozeki
The Bone Clocks, David Mitchell