Popular Asian Magical Realism Books

Find magical realism books written by authors from Asia for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge. (66)

1.

A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami EN

Rating: 4 (8 votes)
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Description:
Haruki Murakami's third novel, A Wild Sheep Chase is the mystery hybrid which completes the odyssey begun in Hear the Wind Sing and Pinball, 1973. The man was leading an aimless life, time passing, one big blank. His girlfriend has perfectly formed ears, ears with the power to bewitch, marvels of creation. The man receives a letter from a friend, enclosing a seemingly innocent photograph of sheep, and a request: place the photograph somewhere it will be seen. Then, one September afternoon, the phone rings, and the adventure begins. Welcome to the wild sheep chase. 'Mr. Murakami's style and ima... continue

2.

After Dark by Haruki Murakami EN

Rating: 3 (5 votes)
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Description:
From the New York Times bestselling author—a gripping novel of late night encounters that’s “hypnotically eerie, sometimes even funny, but most of all … [a book] that keeps ratcheting up the suspense” (The Washington Post Book World). Now with a new introduction by the author. Nineteen-year-old Mari is waiting out the night in an anonymous Denny’s when she meets a young man who insists he knows her older sister, thus setting her on an odyssey through the sleeping city. In the space of a single night, the lives of a diverse cast of Tokyo residents—models, prostitutes, mobsters, and musicians—co... continue

3.

After the Quake by Haruki Murakami EN

Rating: 3 (3 votes)
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Description:
The economy was booming. People had more money than they knew what to do with. And then the earthquake struck. For the characters in After the Quake, the Kobe earthquake is an echo from a past they buried long ago. Satsuki has spent thirty years hating on

4.

Apple and Knife by Intan Paramaditha EN

Rating: 4 (2 votes)
Country: Asia / Indonesia flag Indonesia
Description:
**A The White Review Book of the Year** A dazzling and provocative debut story collection from celebrated Indonesian writer Intan Paramaditha, putting fierce and fabulous female characters centre stage in brilliantly funny and sharp twists on fairy tale. Inspired by horror fiction, myths and fairy tales, Apple and Knife is an unsettling ride that swerves into the supernatural to explore the dangers and power of occupying a female body in today's world. These stories set in the Indonesian everyday - in corporate boardrooms, shanty towns, on dangdut stages - reveal a soupy otherworld stewing jus... continue

5.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold : Tales from the Cafe by Toshikazu Kawaguchi EN

Rating: 4 (8 votes)
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Description:
Summary: In a small back alley in Tokyo, there is a café which has been serving carefully brewed coffee for more than one hundred years. But this coffee shop offers its customers a unique experience: the chance to travel back in time. In Before the Coffee Gets Cold, we meet four visitors, each of whom is hoping to make use of the café's time-travelling offer, in order to confront the lover who left them, receive a letter from their husband whose memory has begun to fade, see their sister one last time, and meet the daughter they never got the chance to know. But the journey into the past does ... continue

6.

Before We Say Goodbye by Toshikazu Kawaguchi EN

Rating: 5 (1 vote)
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Description:
Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s poignant Before we say goodbye, translated from Japanese by Geoffrey Trousselot, explores the age-old question: what would you do if you could travel back in time? More importantly, who would you want to meet, maybe for one last time? The regulars at the magical Cafe Funiculi Funicula are well acquainted with its famous legend and extraordinary, secret menu time travel offering. Many patrons have reunited with old flames, made amends with estranged family, and visited loved ones. But the journey is not without risks and there are rules to follow. Travellers must ... continue

7.

Before Your Memory Fades by Toshikazu Kawaguchi EN

Rating: 4 (1 vote)
Country: Asia / Japan flag Japan
Description:
The third novel in the international bestselling Before the Coffee Gets Cold series, following four new customers in a cafe where customers can travel back in time.On the hillside of Mount Hakodate in northern Japan, Cafe Donna Donna is fabled for its dazzling views of Hakodate port. But that's not all. Like the charming Tokyo cafe Funiculi Funicula, Cafe Donna Donna offers its customers the extraordinary experience of travelling through time.From the author of Before the Coffee Gets Cold and Tales from the Cafe comes another story of four new customers, each of whom is hoping to take advantag... continue

8.

Bliss Montage : Stories by Ling Ma EN

Rating: 2 (1 vote)
Country: Asia / China flag China
Description:
A National Indie Bestseller Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Story Prize, and a Windham-Campbell Literature Prize A Best Book of the Year at The New York Times, The New Yorker, Vogue, Houston Chronicle, Roxane Gay’s The Audacity, Mashable, Polygon, Kirkus Reviews, and Library Journal A New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice “Uncanny and haunting . . . Genius.” —Michele Filgate, The Washington Post “Dazzling.” —Maureen Corrigan, NPR’s Fresh Air What happens when fantasy tears the screen of the everyday to wake us up? Could that waking be our end? In Bliss Montage, Ling ... continue

9.

Build Your House Around My Body : A Novel by Violet Kupersmith EN

0 Ratings
Country: Asia / Vietnam flag Vietnam
Description:
Part puzzle, part revenge tale, part ghost story, this ingenious novel spins half a century of Vietnamese history and folklore into “a thrilling read, acrobatic and filled with verve” (The New York Times Editors’ Choice). FINALIST FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION’S FIRST NOVEL PRIZE • LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN’S PRIZE FOR FICTION • ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The New York Times Book Review, NPR, Good Housekeeping, Kirkus Reviews “Fiction as daring and accomplished as Violet Kupersmith’s first novel reignites my love of the form and its kaleidoscopic possibilities.”—David Mitchell, author of Cl... continue

10.

Censoring an Iranian Love Story : A Novel by Shahriyār Mandanīʹpūr EN

Rating: 4 (1 vote)
Country: Asia / Iran flag Iran
Description:
Shahriar Mandanipour, a contemporary and controversial Iranian writer, presents his first novel written in English. Seamlessly entwining two related narratives, Mandanipour unfolds the tale of an Iranian writer attempting to pen a love story set in presen