Library Staff Directory
Posted Jan 29, 2016
It’s not science fiction. It’s not fantasy. It’s magic! Magical realism is a fiction genre that seamlessly blends magic with reality. Escape the ordinary with some of our top picks:
Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie
Saleem Sinai was born at midnight on August 15th, 1947, the same day that India gained its independence. Coincidence? Maybe, but Saleem quickly learns that he has abilities not many Indians have. For example, he can telepathically communicate with 580 other “midnight children” that share his birth date and time. Plus, his actions are tied to national affairs; his health is connected to the Indian people; and his past mirrors the history of the country. Rushdie conveys an intricately-plotted family saga with a built in history lesson in this funny and moving story.
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabiel Garcia Marquez
Travel to the mythical South American town of Macondo where you can buy a flying carpet, time is meaningless, and there’s little contact with the outside world. The history of the town is told through the Buendia family, and while there is no single main character, there is a full cast of characters with their own personalities, memories, dreams, and personal solitudes. Blending the extraordinary with the ordinary, Garcia Marquez creates a multi-layered lush, lyrical world that tells another version of Colombian history.
Thirteen year old Ava Bigtree tries to hold her family together while everything around her begins to fall apart. Swamplandia, home of the Bigtree Alligator Wrestling theme park and the Bigtree family, is deserted. Hilola, Ava’s alligator-wrestling mother is dead; her father, Chief Bigtree, has left the island; Kiwi, Ava’s brother, took a job on the mainland at the competing theme park; and her older sister, Osceola, is in love with a ghost. Now Ava must travel to the Underworld of the Florida Everglades to save her sister in this mystical coming of age story complete with offbeat adventure.
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