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Book Recommendations for General Fiction + Magical Realism

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All of these books have been read, reviewed, and recommended by our professional reviewers.
Learn how we choose recommended books here.
Total Books Recommended: 54

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Genre: Fiction
Literary Fiction - 25
Historical Fiction - 15
Romance/Love Stories - 2
Short Stories - 12
Speculative, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Alt. History - 10
Poetry & Novels in Verse - 1

Filter by Subgenre/Theme
Firsts
Debuts - 16
1st in Series - 1

Humor & Uplifting
Uplifting - 2
Humor & Satire - 6

Families
Generational Sagas - 16
Parenting & Families - 5

Ages & Stages
Adult Books From Child's Perspective - 1
Coming of Age - 10
Mid-Life Onwards - 1
Dealing with Loss - 13

Ethnicity
Books in Translation - 2
Immigrants & Expats - 6
Black Authors - 9
Latinx Authors - 5
Asian Authors - 11
Jewish Authors - 1

Gender & Sexuality
Female Friendships - 1
Strong Women - 16
LGBTQ+ - 4

Philosophy & Spiritual
Philosophical - 1
Religious or Spiritual Themes - 6

Magical or Supernatural
Magical or Supernatural - 19
Magical Realism - 54

Miscellaneous
Books with Discussion Guides - 24
Small Press Titles - 10
Books about Books - 1
Books About Animals - 3
War Related - 8
Nature & Environment - 3
Music and the Arts - 1
Activism & Volunteering - 1
Heroes - 1
LibraryReads Picks - 5

Number of Pages
400+ Pages - 2
250-400 Pages - 54
Less Than 250 Pages - 17

Filter by Time Period
Time Period
17th Century or Earlier - 4
19th Century - 8
20th Century (multiple decades) - 6
Early 20th Century - 2
1920s & '30s - 1
1940s & '50s - 2
1960s & '70s - 1
1980s & '90s - 1
Contemporary - 23
The Future - 1
Across The Centuries - 6

Filter by Setting
Major Regions
USA - 16
Canada - 2
Central & S. America, Mexico, Caribbean - 6
Europe - 9
Asia - 8
Africa - 2
Alaska & Other Polar/Sub Polar Regions - 1
On The High Seas - 1
Global - 1
Imaginary Locations - 4

USA (48 States)
Mass. - 1
New York State - 1
Mis. Ala. Ga. - 1
Florida - 1
Texas - 1
Ark. La. Ok. - 1
Nebr.& Dakotas - 1
Ariz. Nev. N.M. Utah - 1
California - 4
Wash. Ore. Idaho - 2

USA Regions
New England, USA - 2
Mid-Atlantic, USA - 2
South, USA - 5
Midwest, USA - 1
West, USA - 6

Europe by Region
UK (Britain) & Ireland - 4
Scandinavia - 1
France - 2
Germany - 2
Italy - 1

Asia by Region
Middle-East (West Asia) - 3
East Asia (except China) - 5
India - 1

Africa by Region
Middle & Southern Africa - 1
Northern & Western Africa - 1

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  • Madame Sosostris and the Festival for the Brokenhearted
    Ben Okri
    Hardcover: 03/18/2025
     
    In this modern fable with the impish magic of A Midsummer Night's Dream, a masked ball makes two upper-class ...
  • The Antidote
    The Antidote: A Novel
    Karen Russell
    Hardcover: 03/11/2025
     
    From Pulitzer finalist, MacArthur Fellowship recipient, and bestselling author of Swamplandia! and Vampires in...
  • Remarkably Bright Creatures
    Shelby Van Pelt
    Paperback: 03/04/2025
     
    Winner of the 2022 BookBrowse Debut Award

    For fans of A Man Called Ove, a charming, witty and compulsively ...
  • Held
    Held: A Novel
    Anne Michaels
    Paperback: 03/04/2025
     
    A breathtaking and ineffable new novel from the author of the international best sellers Fugitive Pieces and ...
  • The Bullet Swallower
    Elizabeth Gonzalez James
    Paperback: 01/21/2025
     
    A dazzling magical realism western in the vein of Cormac McCarthy meets Gabriel García Márquez, The ...
  • Wild and Distant Seas
    Tara Karr Roberts
    Paperback: 01/07/2025
     
    A gorgeous debut, laced through with magic, following four generations of women as they seek to chart their ...
  • Let Us Descend
    Jesmyn Ward
    Paperback: 09/03/2024
     
    From Jesmyn Ward—the two-time National Book Award winner, youngest winner of the Library of Congress ...

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