I'm wondering if anyone can recommend some magical realism books? I just finished Natasha Pulley's The Bedlam Stacks and was blown away with how good it was. For anyone not familiar, it's set in the age of colonialism, involves English colonial forays into Peru to get the tree that makes quinine, a magical village in the far eastern Andes, and priests.

I've also really enjoyed 1Q84, and other similar books. I love a book I can fall into its world. But not looking for all-out fantasy. Any suggestions?

Another good one by murakami is `the wind up bird chronicals`, also the classic `one hindered years of solitude ` by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

[Dendra]

Try the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews. It's set in Georgia, roughly 50 years in the future after magic and technology have collided head-on and left disaster in their wake. Society now needs to learn to cope with both, since they never know if magic or tech will have sway at any given time.

I like the worldbuilding and the snarky heroine is right up my alley. (Plus she has the sword and combat skills to back up what she says, so she isn't TSTL or all mouth.) It's got shapeshifters, vampires, ghouls, wizards, knights in shining armor and magical beings from various mythologies around the world.

Hope you enjoy it!

[firewing]

Perhaps this might fit into your ideas of magical realism: Philip Pullman, his Dark Materials series. There is a link to his book listing: https://www.fantasticfiction.com/p/philip-pullman/
The 1st volume, Northern Lights, aka The Golden Compass, was made into a movie. I am not sure if any of the others were.

Toni Morrison's "God Help the Child" fits this quite well.

I enjoy Sarah Addison Allen's magical realism books for a much more light-hearted read than Murakami. Here you get books like Garden Spells, which remind me of Practical Magic. "Using her grandmother's mystical culinary traditions, Claire has built a successful catering business upon the family's peculiar gift for making life-altering delicacies: lilac jelly to engender humility, for instance, or rose geranium wine to call up fond memories...The magic that the quiet caterer has measured into recipes to shape the thoughts and moods of others begins to influence Claire's own emotions in terrifying and delightful ways."

I recommend Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate.
You can find the summary on the forum.

Another good one by murakami is `the wind up bird chronicals`, also the classic `one hindered years of solitude ` by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

I second 100 Years of Solitude. One of the best books I've read in awhile.

[porcupine]

The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter.

[Fiordaliso]

I recommend Laura Esquivel's Like Water for Chocolate.
You can find the summary on the forum.

Loved it!
I recommend The night circus by erin Morgenstern and The toymakers by Robert Dinsdale.
I usually don't like magic realism, but these two novels blew me away.

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton

Haruki Murakami writes magical realism. 'A Wild Sheep Chase' and Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World' are two of his best.

Katherine Arden and R.K. Ryals.

GARDEN SPELLS by Sarah Addison Allen.

A successful caterer, Claire Waverley prepares dishes made with her mystical plants grown from the Waverleys` garden. Meanwhile, her elderly cousin, Evanelle, is known for distributing unexpected gifts whose uses become uncannily clear.

Salman Rushdie's writings are also magical realism.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez is the best in the genre. His short fiction is worth reading.

Short fiction of Isaac Bashevis Singer should also prove to be immensely pleasurable.