Magical Realism Fiction

John Updike reads six stories he has selected from the hundred-odd he has published. "A&P", recounting a moral crisis on the checkout counter, is his most anthologized story. "Pigeon Feathers," the longest story included, tells of a fourteen-year-old boy's fear of death and the answer he finds...

With a dash of magic and a cast of oddball, small-town characters, this feel-good novel explores forgiveness, family, and the sense of humor it takes to live with the ones we love the most. Ebey’s End is a small town on an island off the Pacific coast, reachable only by ferry (assuming the...

BETRAYAL. PASSION. MAGIC. And...WIGS! From the sparkling imagination of gifted entertainer Keke Palmer and her iconic alter ego, Lady Miss Jacqueline, comes a hilarious modern fairy tale about a wilting violet, a clash of personalities, and a multitude of hair.

From two-time National Book Award finalist Eliot Schrefer comes an original penguin-tastic adventure inspired by the beloved classic Mr. Popper's Penguins. It's been years and years since the Popper family lived in Stillwater, but the town is still riding high on its former penguin residents...

Ren lives alone on the remote frontier of a country devastated by a coup d'état. She survives by hunting, farming, trading, and forgetting the contours of what was once a normal life. But her quiet stability is disrupted when an army unit, led by a young female soldier, comes to the mountains on government orders in search of a legendary creature called the rain heron - a mythical, dangerous, form-shifting bird with the ability to change the weather. Ren insists that the bird is simply a story, yet the soldier will not be deterred, forcing them both into a gruelling quest.

Battling a wolf to save a little girl’s life makes Argus Brock a local hero. But what the small town of Redstone doesn’t know is that the tough teenager is a secretly a werewolf, which means the wolf Argus bit during the fight is now a werewolf, too. But unlike Argus and his wolf pack siblings, this wolf man is far from tame.

Alec began his 18th birthday with the temple monks. By day's end, he discovers he possesses magical abilities. Except his magic is unique. He doesn't require grimoires and incantations to cast spells. Alec's magic is entirely natural. He can, somehow, absorb the elements from objects and manipulate them according to his will. This power is incredible, but difficult to master. If he's going to learn how to use his natural magic, it'll take the tutelage of Archmage Diamondspear, one of the most adept magic users in the kingdom.

A charming novel for fans of Before the Coffee Gets Cold and How to Stop Time, following a cat through his nine lives in Edinburgh, moving through the ever-changing city and meeting its inhabitants over centuries Early morning, 1902. At 7/7 Marchmont Crescent, Eilidh the charlady tips coal into...

The Seeker blends inspirational Visionary Fiction with Mythic Fiction in this epic reimagining of the tale of Icarus. In his plunge from glory, rather than perishing in the waters of the Aegean, Icarus is rescued by a passing mariner, fictional demigod Amitayus, who is unaware of his own divinity. The two embark on an epic odyssey, braving impediments only Zeus himself could whip up, as Amitayus seeks the truth that will earn him a place in Elysium. Told through the lens of Greek Classicism, The Seeker puts a modern spin on classic archetypes that lend it unmatched spiritual resonance.

A PBS NewsHour/New York Times Book Club Pick A NATIONAL BOOK FOUNDATION "5 UNDER 35" HONOREE WINNER OF THE 2017 KIRKUS PRIZE WINNER OF THE NYPL'S YOUNG LIONS FICTION AWARD FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE LEONARD PRIZE SHORTLISTED FOR THE ASPEN WORDS LITERARY PRIZE A dazzlingly...

Thirty-two-year-old Jess Abbot has lost everything: her job, her apartment, and - most heart-wrenching - her eight-year-old son, Chance, to a tragic accident. Haunted by memories and grief, Jess packs what’s left and heads for the small mountain town of Pine Lake, where she takes a position as caregiver to an eccentric old woman. A rumored clairvoyant, Lucy is strange but welcoming and immediately intuits Jess as a “loose end” in need of closure. But Jess isn’t the only guest in Lucy’s large Victorian home.

Five teens are caught in a continuous time loop where they are forced to choose who lives and who dies in this absorbing psychological thriller from the acclaimed New York Times bestselling author of Special Topics in Calamity Physics and Night Film. "Beautifully creepy." --The New York Times...

In this “brilliant” (Essence) sequel to The Color Purple, Alice Walker weaves an intricate, rich tapestry of interrelated lives. Celie and Shug from The Color Purple subtly shadow the lives of the dozens of astonishing characters in The Temple of My Familiar, all of whom are dealing in some...

One of Carlos Fuentes’s greatest works, The Old Gringo tells the story of Ambrose Bierce, the American writer, soldier, and journalist, and of his last mysterious days in Mexico living among Pancho Villa’s soldiers, particularly his encounter with General Tomas Arroyo. In the end, the incompatibility of the two countries (or, paradoxically, their intimacy) claims both men, in a novel that is, most of all, about the tragic history of two cultures in conflict.

"A perfect tale of 'what if.' Frey broke my heart into a million pieces then tenderly put it back together with her deeply moving message that sometimes the truest way we can love someone is by letting them go." -- Kate Robb, author of This Spells Love "Devastating, thought-provoking, and...

An uproarious, sensual novel, Leone Ross's Popisho conjures a world where magic is everywhere, food is fate, politics are broken, and love awaits. Everyone in Popisho was born...with a little something...The local name for it was cors. Magic, but more than magic. A gift, nah? Yes. From the...

LONGLISTED FOR THE 2020 MAN BOOKER INTERNATIONAL PRIZE A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR "Her most unsettling work yet — and her most realistic." --New York Times Named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times, O, The Oprah Magazine, NPR, Vulture, Bustle, Refinery29, and...

Book editor Emily Bryant finds herself unexpectedly in the charming town of Cascata on California’s Lost Coast, holding the keys to her grandmother’s rambling Victorian mansion. While sorting through her grandmother’s things, Emily learns that she must edit old manuscripts to inherit the estate. It’s a strange request from a family member who was basically a stranger. Emily quickly realizes that there’s something different about these manuscripts. Any changes she makes come true.

“A laugh-out-loud funny romance with depth and heart, readers will love this spellbinding novel!” —Debbie Macomber, #1 New York Times bestselling author Is he the real deal…or did she truly summon a golem? Faye Kaplan used to be engaged. She also used to have a successful legal practice...

NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORKER LONGLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE AND THE VCU CABELL FIRST NOVELIST AWARD “If you read one debut novel in 2022, this should be it.” —Los Angeles Times In the bustling streets and cloistered homes of Lagos, a cast of...