Magical Realism in books is where the extraordinary seamlessly intertwines with the mundane … and I’m not above wishing that this kind of thing really did exist in real life! At its core, magical realism captures the complexity of human experience, blending the surreal with the everyday. Here are 4 of my favorite gateway books into this genre.
The Golem and the Jinni, Helene Wecker
Chava is a golem, a creature made of clay, brought to life by a disgraced rabbi who dies at sea on the voyage from Poland. Chava is unmoored and adrift as the ship arrives in New York harbor in 1899. Ahmad is a jinni, a being of fire born in the ancient Syrian desert, trapped in an old copper flask, and released in New York City, though still not entirely free. Ahmad and Chava become unlikely friends and soul mates with a mystical connection
The Golem and the Jinni is a beautifully written book that gave me all the feels. If you like rich story telling with fantastic elements, you will love this book. It’s so rich and detailed, with the whimsy of a mythological novel but imbued with a historical context of Middle Eastern and Jewish folklore. What really got me, though, was how it beautifully explores the immigrant experience, giving so much resonance to the characters’ journeys. Their personalities come through clearly and are brilliantly interwoven with their elemental natures.
The Shining Girls, Lauren Beukes
Harper Curtis is a killer who stepped out of the past. At the urging of the House, Harper inserts himself into the lives of the shining girls, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. He’s the ultimate hunter, vanishing into another time after each murder, untraceable-until one of his victims survives.Kirby is the last shining girl, one of the bright young women, burning with potential, whose lives Harper is destined to snuff out after he stumbles on a House in Depression-era Chicago that opens on to other times. Determined to bring her would-be killer to justice, Kirby joins the Chicago Sun-Times to work with the ex-homicide reporter, Dan Velasquez, who covered her case. Soon Kirby finds herself closing in on the impossible truth.
A time traveling serial killer may sound a bit far-fetched, but trust me, The Shining Girls will leave you blown away … and maybe be a little more wary of strangers who try to talk to you. Harper is a truly evil villain. He sees girls that have something special about them – he calls it “The Shining” – and he kills them when they’ve grown up. But this story is not as straightforward as it seems, and there are a lot of twists and crazy turns that happen. It’s a detailed web of a story, a bit gruesome at times, but well worth the read.
NOS4A2, Joe Hill
Victoria McQueen has a secret gift for finding things: a misplaced bracelet, a missing photograph, answers to unanswerable questions. Charles Talent Manx has a way with children. He likes to take them for rides in his 1938 Rolls-Royce Wraith with the NOS4A2 vanity plate. With his old car, he can slip right out of the everyday world, and onto the hidden roads that transport them to an astonishing – and terrifying – playground of amusements he calls “Christmasland.” One day, Vic goes looking for trouble – and finds Manx.
I forgive Hill for trying to paint a disturbing picture of my favorite holiday! In NOS4A2, he managed to create a chilling narrative that contrasts the joyous essence of the holiday season with an unnerving undercurrent of dread. Charlie Manx, the villain in this story, shares my love for Christmas, except in his hands, and in his “wanting everyday to be like Christmas”, he made it seem like a bad, bad thing. The strength of NOS4A2 lies not only in the storytelling, but also in the memorable characters. Vic McQueen’s tenacity and fierce protectiveness to become a formidable threat to Manx is fascinating to see develop and unfold.
Doctor Sleep (The Shining #2), Stephen King
On highways across America, a tribe of people called The True Knot travel in search of sustenance. They look harmless – mostly old, lots of polyester, and married to their RVs. But as Dan Torrance knows, and spunky twelve-year-old Abra Stone learns, The True Knot are quasi-immortal, living off the “steam” that children with the “shining” produce when they are slowly tortured to death.
Stephen King has a way with characters, and he did justice to The Shining with this sequel, Doctor Sleep, 20 years later. We see Danny grow from the kid that escaped the house in The Shining, to being a flawed adult here in this book, getting used to his abilities and finding a way to use them to help people in a discreet way.
What I probably loved the most about Danny’s journey in Doctor Sleep, is that he’s no longer alone. Alongside Abra, whose untapped potential as a teenager is huge, King emphasizes the message that growth is not about solitary struggle but about forming connections. King is really masterful with characters – including the villains. Here, The True Knot (hated that name), is a group of vampire like baddies that feed off “the shining” and they got what they deserve – in a spectacularly, fitting fashion!
These books invite us into a world where the mundane is infused with the magical, challenging identity, history, and human experience. What are some of your favorite books that would classify as Magical Realism?
