Further steps into magic realism.
October 19, 2011 12:32 PM Subscribe
I've read "A Hundred Years of Solitude." Twice. What next?
I've also read many of the usual suspects in the magic realism camp, including "Love in the Time of Cholera," Allende's "The House of Spirits," and most of Borges. Outside of Latin America, I've plowed through "Midnight's Children," much of Murakami, some Italo Calvino, and a smattering of China Mieville.
I like magic realism in the form of sprawling, multigenerational stories in evocative, panoramic landscapes, preferably Latin American. I'm a fan of doorstoppers, though shorter works and anthologies are acceptable as well.
For those whose tastes tend to magic realism, what have been your favorite books within--or outside of--this genre?
I've also read many of the usual suspects in the magic realism camp, including "Love in the Time of Cholera," Allende's "The House of Spirits," and most of Borges. Outside of Latin America, I've plowed through "Midnight's Children," much of Murakami, some Italo Calvino, and a smattering of China Mieville.
I like magic realism in the form of sprawling, multigenerational stories in evocative, panoramic landscapes, preferably Latin American. I'm a fan of doorstoppers, though shorter works and anthologies are acceptable as well.
For those whose tastes tend to magic realism, what have been your favorite books within--or outside of--this genre?
'Behind The Scenes At The Museum' by Kate Atkinson comes to mind, although it is not multigenerational. How about 'Water For Chocolate' - too chick-lit?
posted by bq at 12:35 PM on October 19, 2011
posted by bq at 12:35 PM on October 19, 2011
The Metropolis Case by Matthew Gallaway. Not Latin American, and the magical realism and multigenerationality are not immediately apparent, but boy are they there!
posted by mlle valentine at 12:39 PM on October 19, 2011
posted by mlle valentine at 12:39 PM on October 19, 2011
Mistress of Spices - set in Oakland, CA about a woman who runs an Indian spice shop.
posted by tracicle at 12:39 PM on October 19, 2011
posted by tracicle at 12:39 PM on October 19, 2011
Ooo, also, non-fiction, Hawaii and others by Leon Uris, and On Gold Mountain: The One-Hundred-Year Odyssey of My Chinese-American Family by Lisa See
posted by bq at 12:41 PM on October 19, 2011
posted by bq at 12:41 PM on October 19, 2011
If you liked Midnight's Children, I imagine you'll also like The Satanic Verses and Shame.
posted by saladin at 12:42 PM on October 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by saladin at 12:42 PM on October 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
Steve Erickson (note: not fantasy writer Steven Erikson) is a great American magic-realist novelist. My favorite book of his Rubicon Beach although it seems to be out of print.
posted by dfan at 12:45 PM on October 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by dfan at 12:45 PM on October 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
Little, Big by John Crowley meets all of your criteria, except for the Latin America part.
posted by aparrish at 12:48 PM on October 19, 2011
posted by aparrish at 12:48 PM on October 19, 2011
Soldier of the Great War or Refiner's Fire by Mark Helprin
Blood Sport: A Journey up the Hassayampa by Robert F. Jones
posted by villanelles at dawn at 12:49 PM on October 19, 2011
Blood Sport: A Journey up the Hassayampa by Robert F. Jones
posted by villanelles at dawn at 12:49 PM on October 19, 2011
Louis de Bernières' (self-described 'Márquez parasite') Latin-American trilogy are a perfect match for your criteria. (though certain events are not for the squeamish)
The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts, Señor Vivo and the Coca Lord. and The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman
posted by nicktf at 1:00 PM on October 19, 2011
The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts, Señor Vivo and the Coca Lord. and The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman
posted by nicktf at 1:00 PM on October 19, 2011
The Famished Road by Ben Okri. Think "Hundred Years of Solitude" in colonial Africa, except that it's not a knock-off by any measure. It won the Booker Prize in 1991.
posted by alms at 1:01 PM on October 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by alms at 1:01 PM on October 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
Pretty much any Mark Helprin, really. I started with Winter's Tale and wasn't as enamored of Refiner's Fire, but your tastes may vary.
Joanne Harris (Chocolat, etc.) may also fit the bill.
posted by Madamina at 1:02 PM on October 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
Joanne Harris (Chocolat, etc.) may also fit the bill.
posted by Madamina at 1:02 PM on October 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
Autumn of the Patriarch!
The Obscene Bird of Night!
posted by whimsicalnymph at 1:26 PM on October 19, 2011
The Obscene Bird of Night!
posted by whimsicalnymph at 1:26 PM on October 19, 2011
(and for a quick, compact read)
Pedro Paramo!
posted by whimsicalnymph at 1:27 PM on October 19, 2011
Pedro Paramo!
posted by whimsicalnymph at 1:27 PM on October 19, 2011
How about Jorge Amado? Not quite magical realism, but a quite wonderful writer.
posted by jrochest at 1:36 PM on October 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by jrochest at 1:36 PM on October 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
Desolation Road by Ian McDonald.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 1:51 PM on October 19, 2011
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 1:51 PM on October 19, 2011
While Song of Solomon is not set in Latin America, it is one hell of a book. Magical realism required reading.
posted by arveale at 1:52 PM on October 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by arveale at 1:52 PM on October 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
Any of Cesar Aira's works translated in English -- my favourite are How I Became a Nun, The Literary Conference, and The Seamstress and the Wind -- I just finished the last of these, and cried it was so beautiful. Seriously, read half the book through a watery film. His works are slight, but they are genius. There isn't really anyone else writing like him right now. HIBaN is the least magic realistic of the three, but contains elements of the genre and is a perfect book in its own rights.
posted by Felicity Rilke at 1:59 PM on October 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Felicity Rilke at 1:59 PM on October 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
Nthing John Crowley's work. It falls right in that magical realism genre for me. Also The Jaguar Hunter by Lucius Shepard. It's a collection of short stories instead of a doorstopper, but, you know, if you're in the mood for an aperitif ...
posted by DaddyNewt at 2:15 PM on October 19, 2011
posted by DaddyNewt at 2:15 PM on October 19, 2011
Alvaro Mutis, "The Adventures and Misadventures of Maqroll" - Mutis is a good friend of Garcia Marquez and the "magic" may not be as overt as in 100 Years but it is there.
posted by incandissonance at 2:41 PM on October 19, 2011
posted by incandissonance at 2:41 PM on October 19, 2011
You may enjoy Salvador Plascencia's The People of Paper, although it has some metafictional and fun-with-formatting idiosyncrasies that may or may not be up your alley.
posted by shakespeherian at 2:46 PM on October 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by shakespeherian at 2:46 PM on October 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
Seconding all things Louis de Bernières, as he is delightful.
posted by elizardbits at 2:58 PM on October 19, 2011
posted by elizardbits at 2:58 PM on October 19, 2011
Strongly seconding Pedro Paramo. Amazing.
posted by unannihilated at 3:07 PM on October 19, 2011
posted by unannihilated at 3:07 PM on October 19, 2011
The Baron in the Trees is my favorite by Calvino, if you haven't already read it. Pretty much anything by Jose Saramago.
posted by kittydelsol at 3:14 PM on October 19, 2011
posted by kittydelsol at 3:14 PM on October 19, 2011
Have you read any Angela Carter? Nights at the Circus is particularly wonderful.
posted by HandfulOfDust at 3:27 PM on October 19, 2011
posted by HandfulOfDust at 3:27 PM on October 19, 2011
Really? No one's mentioned The Passion by Jeannette Winterson yet? I think you'll like it.
posted by shesbookish at 3:57 PM on October 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by shesbookish at 3:57 PM on October 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
I'll second Aira (e.g. Ghosts). Junot Diaz (The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao) and Carlos Fuentes (Terra Nostra, etc.) leap to mind as well.
posted by Monsieur Caution at 3:59 PM on October 19, 2011
posted by Monsieur Caution at 3:59 PM on October 19, 2011
It ain't 'magic', but it is real. 'Cutting for stone' by Abraham Verghese. You will thank me (I hope). I too, am a big fan of Gabriel García Márquez and I loved 'Cutting...'.
posted by HarrysDad at 4:12 PM on October 19, 2011
posted by HarrysDad at 4:12 PM on October 19, 2011
I did love Baron of the Trees, as well. Katherine Dunn's Geek Love is, I suppose, in some way related to magical realism. But what comes to mind most is the Loop Trilogy by Chuck Rosenthal, which I found to be an epic, funny, poignant and entertaining group of books. My username is that of a character from the books.
posted by Red Loop at 4:52 PM on October 19, 2011
posted by Red Loop at 4:52 PM on October 19, 2011
The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke is technically children's literature, but I read it for uni as an adult and really enjoyed it. It has got magical realism elements, is set in Venice, and is a fun read.
(the link goes to Good Reads, the wikipedia page had too many spoilers.)
posted by titanium_geek at 4:55 PM on October 19, 2011
(the link goes to Good Reads, the wikipedia page had too many spoilers.)
posted by titanium_geek at 4:55 PM on October 19, 2011
Eons ago I took a class titled "Contemporary Counter-Realist Fiction" and we touched on a lot of American authors that write in a similar vein to the Latin American magical realists. Some possibilities to start off with:
John Barth: "Last Voyage of Somebody the Sailor" is probably the most sprawling of his work.
Tim O'Brien: Going After Cacciato
Tom Robbins: I have no idea what people consider Robbins' best novel, or most magical/unreal. Perhaps try Skinny Legs and All.
Philip Roth also pushes into this territory--perhaps try The Plot Against America
Of course, there is also Thomas Pynchon and Kurt Vonnegut if you've not been there already.
I don't think anyone calls these American authors magical realists (even my prof's term "counter-realist" seems not to have caught on). They are just lumped together as post-modernists, for the most part. Their departure from realism is less in the direction of magic and more in the direction of the preposterous, the implausible, or what many have labeled "carnivalesque".
posted by drlith at 4:56 PM on October 19, 2011
John Barth: "Last Voyage of Somebody the Sailor" is probably the most sprawling of his work.
Tim O'Brien: Going After Cacciato
Tom Robbins: I have no idea what people consider Robbins' best novel, or most magical/unreal. Perhaps try Skinny Legs and All.
Philip Roth also pushes into this territory--perhaps try The Plot Against America
Of course, there is also Thomas Pynchon and Kurt Vonnegut if you've not been there already.
I don't think anyone calls these American authors magical realists (even my prof's term "counter-realist" seems not to have caught on). They are just lumped together as post-modernists, for the most part. Their departure from realism is less in the direction of magic and more in the direction of the preposterous, the implausible, or what many have labeled "carnivalesque".
posted by drlith at 4:56 PM on October 19, 2011
"Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugenides. Not magical realism, not Latin American, but beautifully written and dreamily evocative.
As for other Latin American writers, I would recommend "Kiss of the Spider Woman" by Manuel Puig and "Ficciones" by Jorge Luis Borges, among others.
(Caveat: While I am a devotee of "One Hundred Years," I have yet to find another novel of similar breadth that has captured me to the same extent.)
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 5:30 PM on October 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
As for other Latin American writers, I would recommend "Kiss of the Spider Woman" by Manuel Puig and "Ficciones" by Jorge Luis Borges, among others.
(Caveat: While I am a devotee of "One Hundred Years," I have yet to find another novel of similar breadth that has captured me to the same extent.)
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 5:30 PM on October 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
Roberto Bolano's 2666 is definitely a doorstopper.
I have similar tastes and really enjoyed Bulgakov's Master and Margarita.
posted by marais at 6:07 PM on October 19, 2011
I have similar tastes and really enjoyed Bulgakov's Master and Margarita.
posted by marais at 6:07 PM on October 19, 2011
Oh! Let me be the first to recommend Georges-Olivier Chateaureynaud's book of short stories A Life on Paper. As a Calvino/Borges/Marquez fan, it was the first thing in years to really scratch the same itch for me, in that it was fantastical but also logically, thoroughly and brilliantly realized. (Too often I think lesser authors use magical realism as a crutch to be sloppy about their plots and characters.)
Yes, it is a book of short stories, but certain commonalities start to emerge between stories that give it some of the sprawl you're looking for, the sense of a larger world.
Anyway, I can't recommend it enough, the only drawback is that once you finish it you immediately want to read more, but for some reason it's the only thing of his translated into English.
posted by speicus at 6:50 PM on October 19, 2011 [2 favorites]
Yes, it is a book of short stories, but certain commonalities start to emerge between stories that give it some of the sprawl you're looking for, the sense of a larger world.
Anyway, I can't recommend it enough, the only drawback is that once you finish it you immediately want to read more, but for some reason it's the only thing of his translated into English.
posted by speicus at 6:50 PM on October 19, 2011 [2 favorites]
As a contrary data point, I did not enjoy The People of Paper. It starts out promising but soon veers off into tiresome whiny "self-aware" misogyny.
posted by speicus at 6:54 PM on October 19, 2011
posted by speicus at 6:54 PM on October 19, 2011
It isn't magical realism, but you and I seem to have very similar tastes in literature and I consider it "the USA-ian One Hundred Years of Solitude": East of Eden. A sprawling family saga that is very much also about the changing times and environment in which they live. Speaking of, the Chinese One Hundred Years of Solitude is probably The Good Earth, which is also excellent.
posted by telegraph at 7:26 PM on October 19, 2011
posted by telegraph at 7:26 PM on October 19, 2011
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
posted by kprincehouse at 11:16 PM on October 19, 2011
posted by kprincehouse at 11:16 PM on October 19, 2011
Outside of Latin America, I massively recommend Rubicon Beach by Steve Erickson for US magical realism and Dreams Of Leaving by Rupert Thomson for UK magical realism.
posted by ninebelow at 3:40 AM on October 20, 2011
posted by ninebelow at 3:40 AM on October 20, 2011
Three Trapped Tigers by the Cuban writer Guillermo Cabrena Infante is absolutely beautiful. I also second Cortazar's Hopscotch.
posted by vodkaboots at 5:14 AM on October 20, 2011
posted by vodkaboots at 5:14 AM on October 20, 2011
Enthusiastically seconding Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin and the nether parts trilogy by Louis de Bernieres!
Adding:
The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt (it's... not quite magical, but it has the same feeling, if you know what I mean)
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing: Traitor to the Nation (both volumes) by M.T. Anderson (ditto)
posted by Eshkol at 5:48 AM on October 20, 2011
Adding:
The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt (it's... not quite magical, but it has the same feeling, if you know what I mean)
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing: Traitor to the Nation (both volumes) by M.T. Anderson (ditto)
posted by Eshkol at 5:48 AM on October 20, 2011
The 3 early novels of Louis de Bernieres are comic magical realism and excellent. Do not let Captain Correlli turn you on/off - these are different altogether.
posted by fatmouse at 12:57 AM on October 24, 2011
posted by fatmouse at 12:57 AM on October 24, 2011
Scott Pilgrim, the comic series. NO, REALLY. It's videogame magical realism.
Not the End of the World by Kate Atkinson. Short stories interconnected by character relationships, Greek mythology, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," and impending apocalypses.
Catalina by Markus Orths, one of my favorite books ever.
posted by nicebookrack at 8:57 AM on October 25, 2011
Not the End of the World by Kate Atkinson. Short stories interconnected by character relationships, Greek mythology, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," and impending apocalypses.
Catalina by Markus Orths, one of my favorite books ever.
posted by nicebookrack at 8:57 AM on October 25, 2011
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posted by tracicle at 12:34 PM on October 19, 2011 [1 favorite]