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)
51.
The Gray House by Mariam Petrosyan EN
ArmeniaDescription:
"A tale of how what others understand as liabilities can be leveraged into strengths."--Provided by publisher.
52.
The Hakawati by Rabih Alameddine EN
LebanonDescription:
“Here is absolute beauty. One of the finest novels I’ve read in years.” —Junot Diaz An astonishingly inventive, wonderfully exuberant novel that takes us from the shimmering dunes of ancient Egypt to the war-torn streets of twenty-first-century Lebanon. In 2003, Osama al-Kharrat returns to Beirut after many years in America to stand vigil at his father’s deathbed. The city is a shell of the Beirut Osama remembers, but he and his friends and family take solace in the things that have always sustained them: gossip, laughter, and, above all, stories. Osama’s grandfather was a hakawati, or storyte... continue
53.
The Immortals of Tehran by Ali Araghi EN
IranDescription:
“A highly recommended literary page-turner worth a second reading; fans of Gabriel García Márquez will delight in this fantastical—and fantastic novel.”—Library Journal, starred review "Impactful . . . Araghi’s skillful combination of revolutionary politics and magical realism will please fans of Alejo Carpentier."—Publishers Weekly A sweeping, multigenerational epic, this stunning debut heralds the arrival of a unique new literary voice. As a child living in his family's apple orchard, Ahmad Torkash-Vand treasures his great-great-great-great grandfather's every mesmerizing word. On the day of... continue
54.
The Invisible Man and His Soon-to-Be Wife Vol. 1 by Iwatobineko EN
JapanDescription:
A sweet and supernatural love story at a detective agency, by the creator of The Country Without Humans (also from Seven Seas)! Yakou Shizuka, a quiet and bashful woman, works at a detective agency. Her boss Tounome, who owns the company, is the gentlemanly type, kind and dapper, though he has an extra talent—he’s invisible! His special ability is perfect for detective work, but he quickly comes to find it doesn’t work on Yakou, who is blind and always knows if he’s near. Charmed, Tounome is determined to get her to date him and isn’t against using his many skills. Yakou’s quirky coworkers, a ... continue
55.
The last white man by Mohsin Hamid EN
PakistanDescription:
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE SUMMER BY TIME, ELLE, USA TODAY, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY AND MORE “Perhaps Hamid’s most remarkable work yet … an extraordinary vision of human possibility.” –Ayad Akhtar, author of Homeland Elegies “Searing, exhilarating … reimagines Kafka’s iconic The Metamorphosis for our racially charged era.” Hamilton Cain, Oprah Daily From the New York Times-bestselling author of Exit West, a story of love, loss, and rediscovery in a time of unsettling change. One morning, a man wakes up to find himself transformed. Overnight, Anders’s skin has turned dark... continue
56.
The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl by Tomihiko Morimi EN
Description:
A college student spends an evening out, unwittingly attracting the attention of various men whose paths she crosses. One in particular, an upperclassman who has been nursing a crush on her for some time, has chosen this night to make his true feelings known. Will the two come together, or will this girl just keep on walking...?
57.
The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu EN
ChinaDescription:
Ken Liu is one of the most original, thought-provoking and award-winning short-story writers of his generation. This is the first collection of his work – sixteen stories that invoke the magical within the mundane, by turns profound, beguiling and heartbreaking. Included here are: The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary (Finalist for Hugo, Nebula, and Sturgeon Awards), Mono No Aware (Hugo Award winner), The Waves (Nebula Award finalist), The Bookmaking Habits of Select Species (Nebula and Sturgeon award finalists), All the Flavors (Nebula Award finalist), The Litigation Master and the Monkey ... continue
58.
The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida by Clarissa Goenawan EN
SingaporeDescription:
"University sophomore Miwako Sumida has hanged herself, leaving those closest to her reeling. In the months before her suicide, she was hiding away in a remote mountainside village, but what, or whom, was she running from? To Ryusei, a fellow student at Waseda; Chie, Miwako's best friend; and Fumi, Ryusei's older sister, Miwako was more than the blunt, no-nonsense person she projected to the world. Heartbroken, Ryusei begs Chie to take him to the village where Miwako spent her final days. While he is away, Fumi receives an unexpected guest at their shared apartment in Tokyo, increasingly fearf... continue
India60.
The seven moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka EN
Sri LankaDescription:
WINNER OF THE 2022 BOOKER PRIZE A searing satire set amid the murderous mayhem of Sri Lanka beset by civil war Colombo, 1990. Maali Almeida, war photographer, gambler and closet gay, has woken up dead in what seems like a celestial visa office. His dismembered body is sinking in the Beira Lake and he has no idea who killed him. At a time when scores are settled by death squads, suicide bombers and hired goons, the list of suspects is depressingly long, as the ghouls and ghosts who cluster around him can attest. But even in the afterlife, time is running out for Maali. He has seven moons to try... continue