Popular European Fantasy Books
Find fantasy books written by authors from Europe for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge. (311)
241.
The Man Who Was Thursday by G. K. Chesterton EN
EnglandDescription:
G. K. Chesterton's surreal masterpiece is a psychological thriller that centers on seven anarchists in turn-of-the-century London who call themselves by the names of the days of the week. Chesterton explores the meanings of their disguised identities in what is a fascinating mystery and, ultimately, a spellbinding allegory. As Jonathan Lethem remarks in his Introduction, The real characters are the ideas. Chesterton's nutty agenda is really quite simple: to expose moral relativism and parlor nihilism for the devils he believes them to be. This wouldn't be interesting at all, though, if he didn... continue
242.
The Memory Theater by Karin Tidbeck EN
SwedenDescription:
From the award-winning author of Amatka and Jagannath—a fantastical tour de force about friendship, interdimensional theater, and a magical place where no one ages, except the young In a world just parallel to ours exists a mystical realm known only as the Gardens. It’s a place where feasts never end, games of croquet have devastating consequences, and teenagers are punished for growing up. For a select group of masters, it’s a decadent paradise where time stands still. But for those who serve them, it’s a slow torture where their lives can be ended in a blink. In a bid to escape before their ... continue
243.
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka EN
Country: Europe / 
Czech Republic
Czech Republic
Description:
“When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin.” With this startling, bizarre, yet surprisingly funny first sentence, Kafka begins his masterpiece, The Metamorphosis. It is the story of a young man who, transformed overnight into a giant beetlelike insect, becomes an object of disgrace to his family, an outsider in his own home, a quintessentially alienated man. A harrowing—though absurdly comic—meditation on human feelings of inadequacy, guilt, and isolation, The Metamorphosis has taken its place as one of the most wi... continue
244.
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig EN
Description:
The #1 New York Times bestselling WORLDWIDE phenomenon Winner of the Goodreads Choice Award for Fiction | A Good Morning America Book Club Pick | Independent (London) Ten Best Books of the Year "A feel-good book guaranteed to lift your spirits."—The Washington Post The dazzling reader-favorite about the choices that go into a life well lived, from the acclaimed author of How To Stop Time and The Comfort Book. Don’t miss Matt Haig’s latest instant New York Times besteller, The Life Impossible, available now Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infini... continue
245.
The Modern Fairies by Clare Pollard EN
Description:
Lauren Groff’s Matrix meets Ophelia Field’s The Favourite in this wry, sexy, and sharp historical novel—inspired by true events—featuring an elite group of Paris intellectuals who perform fairy tales that will change the course of literature—and put both the storytellers and their closely kept secrets in grave danger. Why don’t they tell you it is the beautiful princess who becomes the evil queen; that they are just the same person at different points in their story? At a safe distance from the intrigues of courtly life at Louis XIV’s Versailles, an intellectual crowd of mostly women have been... continue
246.
The Moonday Letters by Emmi Itäranta EN
FinlandDescription:
An effortlessly rich and lyrical mystery wrapped in a love story that bends space, time, myth and science, perfect for fans of Octavia Butler and Emily St. John Mandel. Sol has disappeared. Their Earth-born wife Lumi sets out to find them but it is no simple feat: each clue uncovers another enigma. Their disappearance leads back to underground environmental groups and a web of mystery that spans the space between the planets themselves. Told through letters and extracts, the course of Lumi’s journey takes her not only from the affluent colonies of Mars to the devastated remnants of Earth, but ... continue
247.
The Morningside : A Novel by Téa Obreht EN
SerbiaDescription:
“A touching, inventive novel about belonging and loss” (People) from the critically beloved, New York Times bestselling author of The Tiger’s Wife and Inland “I marveled at the subtle beauty and precision of Obreht’s prose. . . Read in the context of today’s conflicts and injustices, climate emergencies, and political and racial divisions—together more dystopian than any dystopian novel—the book surprised me most with its undercurrent of hope.”—Jessamine Chan, author of The School for Good Mothers, in The New York Times (Editors’ Choice) There’s the world you can see. And then there’s the one ... continue
248.
The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne EN
FranceDescription:
Although The Mysterious Island is technically a sequel to Vernes' enormously popular Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, this novel offers a vastly different take on similar thematic motifs. As with all of Verne's best-known works, The Mysterious Island is a masterpiece of the action-adventure genre, with a heaping dash of science fiction influence thrown in for good measure.
249.
The Mystery of the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks EN
Description:
After the family moves to the country to a house recently inherited by his mother, Omri finds many secrets revealed to him when he accidently discovers the link between the house and the magic cupboard. Sequel to The Secret of the Indian.
250.
The Neverending Story by Michael Ende EN
GermanyDescription:
Read the book that inspired the classic coming-of-age film before it's back onscreen in select theaters this September! From award-winning German author Michael Ende, The Neverending Story is a classic tale of one boy and the book that magically comes to life. When Bastian happens upon an old book called The Neverending Story, he's swept into the magical world of Fantastica--so much that he finds he has actually become a character in the story! And when he realizes that this mysteriously enchanted world is in great danger, he also discovers that he is the one chosen to save it. Can Bastian ove... continue