Have a Summer of Magical Realism Fiction

The Appeal of Magic & Reading Recommendations

The appeal of magical realism fiction — the extraordinary appearing within the everyday — let us escape the ordinary, feel powerful, and believe in dimensions beyond what we can see.

Real life has its magical moments, but plunging into a magical novel can sustain heightened feelings. Reading magical realism fiction can allow you to feel love, do something brave, or be wildly generous. Be bigger than your ordinary self. Passionately believe in love, bravery, and justice.

Magical realism fiction brings a heightened reality into ordinary life. The magic mixed in with the quotidian is an intoxicating combination in fiction. Magical possibilities sit right next to you. An object pretending to be a vase of flowers or a salt shaker, leaps into another form. People hide and then reveal unusual powers. Famous examples are easy to find: the novels of Alice Hofmann, Haruki Murakami, and Neil Gaiman. But below are some more ideas for your summer magical realism reading.

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore

Robin Sloan’s deft use of the word “penumbra” (the shadow cast by the earth or moon during an eclipse) is magical. Grab a copy of this fantasy set in our world and discover an underground library connected to Silicon Valley’s technology. This magical realism fiction is one part conspiracy, one part fantasy, and one part technology, with a dash of romance.

The perfect elixir to intoxicate you into flipping the pages faster and faster. For me, a resident of the San Francisco Bay Area, it was fun to read about the setting of this mythical bookstore that reminded me of so many in the city—and one I’d love to visit. If only it existed.

Aimee Bender’s The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

Another magical realism fiction  I read without stopping was about a girl who has a magical ability that might not turn out to be the happiest gift. A young girl can taste the feelings of the person who created the food she’s eating. You’d imagine that if she eats in the best restaurants, this could feel very nice—but of course, young Rose eats at home and learns about her mother’s difficult challenges and feelings as she struggles forward. Rose begins to want not to eat. Ultimately this aversion to other people’s food-feelings draws her to create food herself, and to use her gift for the sake of others.

Paula Brackston’s The Little Shop of Found Things

This novel weaves magic into antique objects, found amidst ordinary reality and understood to have messages by a woman who is sensitive to the voices of their past. A mother-daughter pair try to start a new life by buying an antique shop in a charming English village known for its shops. What they find is a place of quiet magic, a bounty of lost treasures, and a spirit who haunts the place.

The narrative pace is quiet and descriptive, and the setting has English village charm. The magic feels plausible, and even the ghost feels sympathetic. I love fact that an ordinary piece of antique jewelry can transport the young woman Xanthe to a previous century where something needs to be set right, and she feels she has to do it. Xanthe’s sensitivies compel her to seek the justice for people her found items belonged to. The idea of hearing the voices of history in objects will appeal to anyone who has ever spent a lot of time in museums, wondering about the ancient items behind the glass.

My Timegathering Series

Of course, I recommend my newest magical realism fiction, Undoing Time, third in my Timegathering Series. Liv Pomeroy’s high hopes and lavish lifestyle come undone when her fiancé runs off with her maid of honor. Escaping to Italy, she meets a circle of time travelers whose mission is to save history. Can she save her future by joining them? 

All the three books in the series include time travel, have settings in Italy, and romance. Take a look HERE. Happy magical realism fiction reading!