Popular European Magical Realism Books

Find magical realism books written by authors from Europe for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge. (81)

61.

The Moonday Letters by Emmi Itäranta EN

Rating: 4 (2 votes)
Country: Europe / Finland flag Finland
Description:
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

62.

The Morningside : A Novel by Téa Obreht EN

Rating: 4 (1 vote)
Country: Europe / Serbia flag Serbia
Description:
“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

63.

The Murderer’s Ape by Jakob Wegelius EN

Rating: 5 (1 vote)
Country: Europe / Sweden flag Sweden
Description:
A captivating mystery adventure story, with gorgeously detailed black-and-white illustrations throughout ‘I don't know when I last read a book with such pure and unalloyed pleasure. It's ingenious, it's moving, it's charming, it's beautiful, it's exciting, and most importantly the characters are people I feel I know like old friends. I thank Jakob Wegelius wholeheartedly for giving me several hours of joy." - Philip Pullman Sally Jones is not only a loyal friend, she's an extraordinary individual. In overalls or in a maharaja's turban, this unique gorilla moves among humans without speaking bu... continue

64.

The Mysterious Bakery on Rue de Paris by Evie Woods EN

0 Ratings
Country: Europe / Ireland flag Ireland
Description:
From the million-copy bestselling author of The Lost Bookshop Nestled among the cobblestone streets of Compiègne, there existed a bakery unlike any other. Rumours were whispered through the town that its pastries offered a taste of magic, chasing away the darkest of sorrows. Just one bite of a croissant might bring luck, unlock a precious memory or reveal hidden longings. But dark clouds were looming on the horizon... For Edie Lane, a recipe for disaster doesn't require that many ingredients. Take an unhealthy amount of wishful thinking and a sprinkle of desperation and that's how Edie left ev... continue

65.

The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafón EN

Rating: 5 (1 vote)
Country: Europe / Spain flag Spain
Description:
The third in a series of novels that began with The Angel’s Game and The Shadow of the Wind. The Prisoner of Heaven returns to the world of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books and the Sempere & Sons bookshop. It begins just before Christmas in Barcelona in 1957, one year after Daniel and Bea from The Shadow of the Wind have married. They now have a son, Julian, and are living with Daniel’s father at Sempere & Sons. Fermin still works with them and is busy preparing for his wedding to Bernarda in the New Year. However something appears to be bothering him. Daniel is alone in the shop one morning wh... continue

66.

The Rabbit Back Literature Society by Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen EN

Rating: 4 (1 vote)
Country: Europe / Finland flag Finland
Description:
Selected as the new, 10th member of an exclusive and elite writer's club headed by a renowned children's author, Ella discovers the other participants are involved in disturbing secrets, mysterious rituals and have books in which the words begin to rearrange themselves.

67.

The Saga of Gosta Berling by Selma Lagerlof EN

0 Ratings
Country: Europe / Sweden flag Sweden
Description:
The first new English translation in more than one hundred years of the Swedish Gone with the Wind A Penguin Classic In 1909, Selma Lagerlöf became the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. The Saga of Gösta Berling is her first and best-loved novel—and the basis for the 1924 silent film of the same name that launched Greta Garbo into stardom. A defrocked minister, Gösta Berling finds a home at Ekeby, an ironworks estate that also houses and assortment of eccentric veterans of the Napoleanic Wars. His defiant and poetic spirit proves magnetic to a string of women, who fall under hi... continue

68.

The Solitaire Mystery by Jostein Gaarder EN

Rating: 4 (1 vote)
Country: Europe / Norway flag Norway
Description:
In The Solitaire Mystery, Hans Thomas and his father set out on a car trip through Europe, from Norway to Greece - the birthplace of philosophy - in search of Hans Thomas's mother, who left them many years earlier. On the way, Hans Thomas receives a mysterious miniature book - the fantastic memoir of a sailor shipwrecked in 1842 on a strange island where a deck of cards has come to life. But how do these stories fit together? Who is the little man who keeps cropping up on their trip? And why must Hans Thomas learn about the distant past before he can understand his mother's more recent disappe... continue

69.

The Stone Raft by José Saramago EN

Rating: 3 (1 vote)
Country: Europe / Portugal flag Portugal
Description:
One day a rift opens along the border between Spain and France, and the Iberian peninsula floats off across the Atlantic, a great stone raft. But what of the floating population? While the tourists and investors flee, the Spanish and Portuguese escape the coast and wander the inland roads.

70.

The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht EN

Rating: 4 (5 votes)
Country: Europe / Serbia flag Serbia
Description:
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST • The instant classic debut novel from the author of Inland and The Morningside, hailed as “a thrilling beginning to what will certainly be a great literary career” (Elle) “Spectacular . . . [Téa Obreht] spins a tale of such marvel and magic in a literary voice so enchanting that the mesmerized reader wants her never to stop.”—Entertainment Weekly “Not since Zadie Smith has a young writer arrived with such power and grace.”—Time ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times; Entertainment Weekly; The Christi... continue