What We’re Reading: Magical Realism

Spring weather has snuck up early in Minnesota. I hesitate to call it spring, but the forecast is looking mighty promising. With the promise of thawing temps, sunshine, and the smell of dirt, it feels like a fever has broken. With that, I have renewed energy for reading books on the sun porch, with either a cup of coffee or microbrew in hand, depending on the time of day. My brain has been teetering towards magical realism lately, as it feels fitting with the magical appearance of early spring.

Here’s a list of some magical realism classics, as well as some more recent additions to the genre.

The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami 

Murakami’s trademark style carefully times layer up on layer added to the plot. It’s a plot that is slow to build, and the reader must be patient. But with Murakami, it doesn’t feel like a chore to be patient, thanks to Murakami’s capable, expert hands. We are fully immersed in his character Toru Okada’s world as he searches for his cat, and then his wife — in a well, in another dimension, in dreams, and perhaps, in reality. Most of Murakami’s books fall into this magical realism category, but this one is an excellent place to start, as its the first book that launched him into international stardom in the book world.

Get in Trouble by Kelly Link
The first adult book Link has written in a while, this collection of nine short stories will grasp you and plunge you into each world. Each story feels like a game masked behind a dark curtain. You’ve got ouija boards, astronauts, and superheroes alongside slumber parties and reality TV. It’s playful, but dark, and you can’t help but gobble it all up.

Swamplandia by Karen Russell 

Swamplandia started as a short story from Russell called “Ava Wrestles the Alligator,” and morphed into a full-length novel. The setting? An alligator-wrestling amusement park, of course. Enough said. Russell is a master at creating vibrant, fully fleshed, magical worlds with characters that teem with true emotion and complex pathos, yet accomplishes all this in short story form.

 

 

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas has gotten plenty of attention, both as a bestseller, but also now as a movie. My advice: read the book. Mitchell deftly moves from one character’s voice, time, and setting to a completely different voice, time and setting with agility. He weaves a connecting thread subtly through all of the different character’s stories, and nests these stories within each other. This book is for anyone who loves the craft of writing.

 

The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing by Mira Jacob

A debut novel from Jacob, this book is about a family coming to terms with their past trauma, crossing the border of India, New Mexico, and Seattle. There’s a brain surgeon talking to dead relatives, a garden with mysterious things buried there, and a family trip to India that are all swirling around, waiting to settle or be kicked up again.

 

 

What other magical realism titles would you include in this list? Why do you think the genre has exploded so much in the last decade?