Mythic Fiction discussion

I thought it would be fun to do a book challenge. There is no time limit for this challenge, so you can read at your own pace. You can keep track of your progress on this thread, and add any comments or reviews of the books you've completed.

The challenge is to read 10 books from Endicott Studio's Recommended Mythic Fiction list. Re-reads count too, if you find some old favorites on the list.

http://endicottstudio.typepad.com/jom...

Oh, fun! I've read a few already:

16. Kavalier and Clay (by Michael Chabon): excellent. Read this one twice, in fact, since Chabon's one of my favorite authors.

18. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (by Susannah Clarke): also excellent. Helps if you like footnotes.

35. Like Water for Chocolate (Laura Esquivel): angsty, but fun. Great ending.

85. The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break (Steven Sherrill): can't remember much about this one. Seems that I liked it?

89. Troll, A Love Story (Johanna Sinisalo): dark, disturbing, and very clean prose (though translated from the Finnish).

Halfway there!

I've read 15 books on the list (if I counted right) and my favorites of those were The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende, Little Big by John Crowley, and Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel.

I'm not sure how long it's going to take me, but I'm going to try to read these ten books...

A Fine and Private Place by Peter S. Beagle
Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter
The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman
Troll: A Love Story by Johanna Sinsalo
Spirits of the Ordinary by Kathleen Alcala
The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
The Bone People by Keri Hulme
When Fox Is a Thousand by Larissa Lai
Wild Life by Molly Gloss
Madame Fate by Marcia Douglas

I've read 16 books on that list. My favorites were Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni and Was by Geoff Ryman.

It may take me quite some time, but I'll commit to reading:

1.The House of the Spirits
2.The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
3.The Journal of Antonio Montoya
4.The Reflections of Loko Miwa
5.When Fox Is A Thousand
6.The Ancient Child
7.House of Houses
8. The River Midnight
9.The Satanic Verses
10. Cloven Hooves

Yea, a challenge! I've read 4 on the list:

50. Alice Hoffman, The Ice Queen
58. Thomas King, Green Grass, Running Water
63. Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera
77. Susan Power, The Grass Dancer

Grass Dancer was my favorite of the four, although I cringe to say that since I adore Alice Hoffman's work.

I will commit to reading 10 more from the list. Erdrich and Momaday for sure, the other eight I'll pick as the moods strike me.

My goodness. That is some list. I can't wait to sink my teeth into some, er most, of the books on the list. While I have read a few -- I can only count my short list on one hand -- I am intrigued by some of the titles and will search and download a few of the books straight away. Thank you for the reading list! Cheers and happy reading to all.

I'd quibble with some of these being mythic fiction/fantasy. Personally, I do not think a work is mythic fiction just because it includes archetypes common in myths and legends. I also exclude post-Classical religious subjects from this category and put them into a separate one. I save it for retellings of actually myths legends and fairy tales. BTAIM, I have only read a few of these:

18. Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (a Victorian fantasy)
53. Robert Holdstock, Mythago Wood

There are many books not on this list I would highly recommend.

I have only read a few of the books listed, although I've read other books by quite a few authors on the list.

There are so many here I'd like to read, and I don't know how long it will take me (considering multiple challenges for other groups) but I will read at least 10 of these, which are all on my home shelves, waiting to be read:

1. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell – Susanna Clarke
2. The Antelope Wife – Louise Erdrich
3. Sarah Canary – Karen Joy Fowler
4. Wild Life – Molly Gloss
5. The Ice Queen – Alice Hoffman
6. Coyote Blue – Christopher Moore
7. Kafka on the Shore – Haruki Murakami
8. Lambs of God – Marele Day
9. Sexing the Cherry - Jeanette Winterson
10. The Kappa Child - Hiromi Goto
11. When Fox is a Thousand - Larissa Lai
12. Fool on the Hill - Matt Ruff

I don't know how long it will take. But it will be a while as I am finishing up 2 novels and I have one coming out this summer. But the list looks great and I will try and complete.Thanks for the challenge.

Well maybe not the entire list.

If anyone hasn't read it, I think The Hundred Secret Senses is wonderful. Also, I totally adored The Stolen Child.

Plus, I'm new! Hi!

I read The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman and gave it four stars. Looking through the reviews some people thought it was too depressing, but that didn't bother me. I did get a little teary at one point though. I thought it was an interesting character study, how the narrator ends up learning more about herself and what is really important to her.

A Fine and Private Place by Peter S. Beagle
Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter
* The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman
Troll: A Love Story by Johanna Sinsalo
Spirits of the Ordinary by Kathleen Alcala
The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
The Bone People by Keri Hulme
When Fox Is a Thousand by Larissa Lai
Wild Life by Molly Gloss
Madame Fate by Marcia Douglas

I read two more...Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter and The Bone People by Keri Hulme. I thought Nights at the Circus started off a little slow, but became more interesting as I read it. The Bone People was depressing in areas and had unlikeable characters, but the amazing writing carried me through. I gave both books 4 stars.

A Fine and Private Place by Peter S. Beagle
* Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter
* The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman
Troll: A Love Story by Johanna Sinsalo
Spirits of the Ordinary by Kathleen Alcala
The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
* The Bone People by Keri Hulme
When Fox Is a Thousand by Larissa Lai
Wild Life by Molly Gloss
Madame Fate by Marcia Douglas

I think I'll try to read these:

The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
Chocolat (The Food Trilogy, #1) by Joanne Harris
Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock
The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
Dogland by Will Shetterly
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
The History of Danish Dreams by Peter Hoeg
The River Midnight by Lilian Nattel

Olivia wrote: "Oh, fun! I've read a few already:

16. Kavalier and Clay (by Michael Chabon): excellent. Read this one twice, in fact, since Chabon's one of my favorite authors..."

I recently finished this remarkable novel and put it up there with American Gods and At Swim Two Boys as great literature of the 21st century. Loved it! But, it's not really mythic fiction. I seem to be saying that a lot...

I will need to go thru the list book by book.

Some of the books I don't personally consider mythic fiction either, they seem more in the magical realism category. But I guess we all have our own ideas about how to catalogue genres.

Anyways I finished two more books...A Fine and Private Place by Peter S. Beagle and The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. I gave them both four stars, 3.5 actually if goodreads let you rate half stars.

Has anyone seen the movie version of Mistress of Spices? I watched it a few months ago and preferred it to the book.

* A Fine and Private Place by Peter S. Beagle
* Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter
* The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman
Troll: A Love Story by Johanna Sinsalo
Spirits of the Ordinary by Kathleen Alcala
* The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
* The Bone People by Keri Hulme
When Fox Is a Thousand by Larissa Lai
Wild Life by Molly Gloss
Madame Fate by Marcia Douglas

Yes, I also preferred the movie version of The Mistress of Spices. It has a better ending than the book. I got to see it in a movie theatre and I thought it was awesome.

I finally went through the list and decided which looked interesting to me. Several are already on my TBR pile. I think the list os a bit overloaded with coming of age and romance novels, but there seems something for everyone:

Swim the Moon
Tex and Molly in the Afterlife
Minions of the Moon
The Vintner's Luck: A Novel
Prince
Fool on the Hill: A Novel
Last Call
The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break
The Blind God Is Watching
Anansi Boys
Mythago Wood
The Satanic Verses

So far I've read 11:
2. Isabel Allende, The House of the Spirits
4. Kate Atkinson, Human Croquet
15. Ana Castillo, So Far From God
35. Laura Esquivel, Like Water for Chocolate
49. Peter Hoeg, The History of Danish Dreams
50. Alice Hoffman, The Ice Queen
55. Janette Turner Hospital, Last Magician
87. Leslie Marmon Silko, Almanac of the Dead
92. Amy Tan, The Hundred Secret Senses
93. Amos Tutuola, The Palmwine Drinkard and My Life in the Bush of Ghosts
98. Jeanette Winterson, Sexing the Cherry

Right now I'm halfway thru Nights at the Circus.
But I'm going very slowly. For some reason, I'm having a very hard time staying with it although the first section was the most difficult for me.

I just finished The Ancient Child and gave it three stars. It was beautiful, mysterious, and I'd need to read it again to scratch the surface on all of the meaning. So I've read:

Alice Hoffman, The Ice Queen
Thomas King, Green Grass, Running Water
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera
Susan Power, The Grass Dancer
N. Scott Momaday, The Ancient Child

Two more read...Troll: A Love Story by Johanna Sinisalo (3 stars) and Madam Fate by Marcia Douglas (4 stars). I liked the mythology elements and writing style in Madame Fate. Troll I wanted to like more than I did because the storyline sounded so interesting, but it just didn't draw me in.

* A Fine and Private Place by Peter S. Beagle
* Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter
* The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman
* Troll: A Love Story by Johanna Sinsalo
Spirits of the Ordinary by Kathleen Alcala
* The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
* The Bone People by Keri Hulme
When Fox Is a Thousand by Larissa Lai
Wild Life by Molly Gloss
* Madame Fate by Marcia Douglas

Just finished A Fine and Private Place (3 stars). I liked idea and what it had to say although I needed it to have a little more action. So I've read:

Alice Hoffman, The Ice Queen
Thomas King, Green Grass, Running Water
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera
Susan Power, The Grass Dancer
N. Scott Momaday, The Ancient Child
Peter S. Beagle, A Fine and Private Place

Two more read...Spirits of the Ordinary: A Tale of Casas Grandes by Kathleen Alcala and Wild Life by Molly Gloss. I rated them both 3 stars. I had a similar experience with both books...I was very interested in the characters and storyline to begin with, but about halfway through it waned.

* A Fine and Private Place by Peter S. Beagle
* Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter
* The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman
* Troll: A Love Story by Johanna Sinsalo
* Spirits of the Ordinary by Kathleen Alcala
* The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
* The Bone People by Keri Hulme
When Fox Is a Thousand by Larissa Lai
* Wild Life by Molly Gloss
* Madame Fate by Marcia Douglas

This is a great List!
Many of the titles I read and re-read years ago.
Up to now I've read:
Isabel Allende, The House of the Spirits (I love all her books)
Judith Berman, Bear Daughter
Ana Castillo, So Far From God
Charles de Lint, Someplace to Be Flying (The entire Newford series is great)
Laura Esquivel, Like Water for Chocolate
Neil Gaiman, Anansi Boys
Elizabeth Hand, Mortal Love
Nalo Hopkinson, The Salt Roads
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera
Amy Tan, The Hundred Secret Senses

I could not finish John Crowley’s "Little, Big". I wanted to like it so much, but could not get into it!

I am currently reading Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell and liking it but not loving it.(I hate footnotes!)
I’ve ordered Louise Erdrich, The Antelope Wife to read next
There is one writer who really should be there and that is Rudolfo Anaya. His novel “Bless me Ultima” definitely qualifies as being mythic fiction.

Jalilah wrote: "This is a great List!
Many of the titles I read and re-read years ago.
Up to now I've read:
Isabel Allende, The House of the Spirits (I love all her books)
Judith Berman, Bear Daughter
Ana Castill..."

I agree about Bless Me Ultima being mythic fiction. Also possibly Serafina's Stories because the stories that Serafina tells could be considered mythic.

That's right Serafina's Stories too! I loved the Cinderella-like story where instead of the good fairy the Virgin Mary helps!I find it disappointing that Anaya’s books are not easily available. If you don’t live in New Mexico you can rarely find his books. I always have to order.

The libraries in California, which has a large Latino population, always order Anaya. I've never had any problem getting his books from libraries.

I just finished Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke. It did get better as I read on, but it will not be one of my all time favourites. I guess I just am not that into magicians and wizards!
I immediately started The Antelope Wife by Louise Erdrich and absolutely love it! It is the first time I've read this author and I really appreciate her style.


1.Isabel Allende, The House of the Spirits (I love all her books)
2.Judith Berman, Bear Daughter
3.Ana Castillo, So Far From God
4.Charles de Lint, Someplace to BeFlying (The entire Newford series is great)
5.Laura Esquivel, Like Water for Chocolate
6.Neil Gaiman, Anansi Boys
7.Elizabeth Hand, Mortal Love
8.Nalo Hopkinson, The Salt Roads
9.Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera
10.Amy Tan, The Hundred Secret Senses
11.Little, Big by John Crowley I did not finish it. could not get into it!

I'm excited to challenge myself to read 75/100 of these books. I'm going to start with these (as they are already available for Kindle):

1. Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
2. Troll: A love Story by Johana Sinisalo
3. The Hummingbird Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea
4. The Nature of Water and Air by Regina McBride
5. The Satanic Verses by Salmon Rushdie
6. Chocolat by Joanne Harris
7. The Ice Queen: A novel by Alice Hoffmann
8. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrel by Susana Clarke
9. Little, Big by John Crowley
10. The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue
11. Swim the Moon by Paul Brandon
12. The Truth about Celia by Kevin Brockmeier

I aim to read at least 8 of the books listed above before the end of 2011 and then reach my goal of 75/100 by reading 15 books from the list a year until I get the 75 read. Looking forward to reading from a wider list of authors in this amazing genre!

Finished The Antelope Wife by Louise Erdrich and loved it! I plan to read more books by her. Got side tracked and started the Wicked Lovely Series by Melissa Marr. I can't decide what on the Endicot list to start next....


1.Isabel Allende, The House of the Spirits (I love all her books)
2.Judith Berman, Bear Daughter
3.Ana Castillo, So Far From God
4.Charles de Lint, Someplace to BeFlying (The entire Newford series is great)
5.Laura Esquivel, Like Water for Chocolate
6.Neil Gaiman, Anansi Boys
7.Elizabeth Hand, Mortal Love
8.Nalo Hopkinson, The Salt Roads
9.Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera
10.Amy Tan, The Hundred Secret Senses
11.Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel by Susanna Clarke 12.The Antelope Wife by Louise Erdrich
Did not finish Little, Big by John Crowley.

Wow, this is one one my favorite reading areas, and I've only read seven on the list!
Susanna Clarke - J. Strange and Mr. Norrell - good
John Crowley - Little, Big - very interesting writer, I enjoyed this book!
Charles de Lint - Someplace to be Flying - good, de Lint has written many other books, a few I like better than STBF
Nail Gaiman - Anansi Boys - rocks, who likes Gaiman's Sandman series, I do!
Richard Grant - Tex and Molly in the Afterlife - Tex and Molly remind me of friends of mine, old hippies that this would happen to! Liked.
Robert Holdstock - Mythago Wood - like walking into a dream of archetypes, he's really good.
Tim Powers - Last Call - good, Tim Powers is a good writer as well.
There is a writer named Lisa Tuttle who might be added to the list, she wrote The Silver Bough and
The Mysteries - both well worth a look.

Completed The Stolen Child this week. It was really good: 4.5/5 stars. It was a great urban fantasy without trying to be more than what it was, if that makes sense. I thought the writing style was excellent and the subject matter was interesting. It fell more under mystical fiction than mythic fiction though the myth of changelings, its main subject, is definitely something that would qualify as mythic fiction. It depends on your definition, I suppose.

Started Troll: A Love Story. So far I'm not really that impressed with it. I'm about 25% done with it (am reading it on kindle). We'll see where it goes.

Just finished Coyote Cowgirl by Kim Antieau

I enjoyed this book so much that towards the last half I started reading just a little at a time because I could not stand the idea of the story being over and having to leave it. That is how much Antieau draws you into her magical, colourful, and quirky world! This story was part mystery (women keep mysteriously disappearing thorough out the story), part coming of age story (Jeanne is a young withdrawn woman who in the beginning is considered incompetent by her family) and part magical realism (she talks to a Chrystal skull that only she can hear). It is also one of those great food books like Crescent by Diana Abu Jabber and like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel with colourful delicious sounding recipes that make you want to cook. And oh yes and the food she makes is like a truth serum and never runs out! Also if you love the Southwest,Antieau describes it so well you feel like you are there.
This novel is a wonderful read!

So now the Endicot books I've read are:

1.Isabel Allende, The House of the Spirits (I love all her books)
2.Judith Berman, Bear Daughter
3.Ana Castillo, So Far From God
4.Charles de Lint, Someplace to BeFlying (The entire Newford series is great)
5.Laura Esquivel, Like Water for Chocolate
6.Neil Gaiman, Anansi Boys
7.Elizabeth Hand, Mortal Love
8.Nalo Hopkinson, The Salt Roads
9.Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera
10.Amy Tan, The Hundred Secret Senses
11.Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel by Susanna Clarke
12.The Antelope Wife by Louise Erdrich
13.Coyote Cowgirl by KIm Antieau

Tried but did not finish Little, Big by John Crowley.

Thanks for this. I've just been thinking that I'd really like to read some good mythic fiction, and wondered what to choose. The list is inspiring.

I've already read eight of the books on the list, so now I'll choose ten more. I won't commit to specific titles yet. Instead, I'll download sample chapters from all of them (assuming they're available as e-books) and buy the ones I like best.

Rayne

Jalilah wrote: "Just finished Coyote Cowgirl by Kim Antieau

I enjoyed this book so much that towards the last half I started reading just a little at a time because I could not stand the idea of the story b..."

Thanks Jalilah, for info on Coyote Cowgirl - it sounds good. I just got the book, but haven't started reading yet.

Finished Troll: A Love Story and didn't rate it very high. I think 2/5. It just wasn't so much my thing.

Also, finished Chocolat, which got 3/5 stars. It was written with a delightful sensitivity to language that I thought was amazing. While it did have mythic themes in it, and was described as an adult fairy tale, the reason I didn't rate it higher despite it being wonderfully written is that it fell short of my expectations, which I understand may need to be adjusted from now on when I read this sort of story, especially since everything I read in this genre is immediately compared to Juliette Marillier which already means it'll fall short. :P

So far my favorite on the list has been The Stolen Child which I gave 4.5/5 stars to. I see that it's getting a lot of attention in the October reading suggestions and I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys this genre who hasn't read it.

3/8 books read so far.

Hmm, I wouldn't describe Chocolat as a fairy tale either, I would put it in the category of magical realism.

Many of the novels on this list, Isabel Allende, The House of the Spirits,Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera, Laura Esquivel, Like Water for Chocolate and more would also considered Magical Realism

I'm thinking about starting a new thread where group members can contribute to their own essential reading in this genre.

That's a good idea Kassi, it would be interesting to see what people's lists would be.

I recently read The Vintner's Luck by Elizabeth Knox. Very good, haunting, deep, devastating. (4 stars)

Alice Hoffman, The Ice Queen
Thomas King, Green Grass, Running Water
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera
Susan Power, The Grass Dancer
N. Scott Momaday, The Ancient Child
Peter S. Beagle, A Fine and Private Place
Elizabeth Knox, The Vintner's Luck

I've got two more books to add to my already read list:
Damascus Nights by Rafik Schami
Although it won’t become one of my all time favourites, I still really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it!
The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue
Once I got past the first few chapters that I found rather depressing I could not put this novel down. It has very unusual take on faeries.
I would read other books from both of these Authors.

1.Isabel Allende, The House of the Spirits (I love all her books)
2.Judith Berman, Bear Daughter
3.Ana Castillo, So Far From God
4.Charles de Lint, Someplace to BeFlying (The entire Newford series is great)
5.Laura Esquivel, Like Water for Chocolate
6.Neil Gaiman, Anansi Boys
7.Elizabeth Hand, Mortal Love
8.Nalo Hopkinson, The Salt Roads
9.Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera
10.Amy Tan, The Hundred Secret Senses
11.Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel by Susanna Clarke
12.The Antelope Wife by Louise Erdrich
13.Coyote Cowgirl by Kim Antieau
14.Damascus Nights by Rafik Schami
15.The Stolen Child by Keith Donohue

I finally finished my list with When Fox Is a Thousand by Larissa Lai. I thought the writing was excellent and I also liked the fox woman motif. But I did find the constant switching between times and characters confusing. I rated it three stars.

Completed List...
* A Fine and Private Place by Peter S. Beagle (4 stars)
* Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter (4 stars)
* The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman (4 stars)
* Troll: A Love Story by Johanna Sinsalo (3 stars)
* Spirits of the Ordinary by Kathleen Alcala (3 stars)
* The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (4 stars)
* The Bone People by Keri Hulme (4 stars)
* When Fox Is a Thousand by Larissa Lai (3 stars)
* Wild Life by Molly Gloss (3 stars)
* Madame Fate by Marcia Douglas (4 stars)

I am updating my list since reading The Mistress of Spices
The Hummingbird's Daughter
and Lambs of God

Books I have read so far are:

*The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende 5*
* Someplace to Be Flying by Charles de Lint 5*
* Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel 4*
*Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman,3*
* Mortal Love by Elizabeth Hand 3*
* The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson 3*
*Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez 4*
*The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan,4*
* Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel by Susanna Clarke 2*
*The Antelope Wife by Louise Erdrich 3*
*Coyote Cowgirl by Kim Antieau 5*
*Damascus Nights by Rafik Schami 4*
* The Stolen Child by Keith Donahue 4*
*Mistress of Spices by Chitra Bannerjee Divakaruni 3*
*The Hummingbird’s Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea 5*
*Lambs of God by Marele Day 4*

ooh, I love Endicott Studio (and Terri Windling in general)...

Let's see how many of these I've read...

Isabel Allende, The House of the Spirits (4*)
Michael Chabon, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay (4*)
Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell (3*)
Chitra Bannerjee Divakaruni, Mistress of Spices (3*)
Laura Esquivel, Like Water for Chocolate (4*)
Neil Gaiman, Anansi Boys (4*)
Elizabeth Hand, Mortal Love (3*)
Nina Kiriki Hoffman, A Fistful of Sky (3*)
Robert Holdstock, Mythago Wood (2*)
Megan Lindholm, Cloven Hooves (2*)
Patricia A. McKillip, Stepping From the Shadows (1*) (huh. Just a note, here... 'Cloven Hooves' and 'Stepping From Shadows' are very similar books, and they're also both my least favorite works by their respective authors. I'd probably give nearly everything else by McKillip 5 stars, and I follow Hobb/Lindholm assiduously... odd selections, IMHO.)
Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore (4*)
Salman Rushdie, The Satanic Verses (2*)
Johanna Sinsalo, Troll, A Love Story (3*)

Hmm. There are a couple of them that I may have read long ago and can't remember for sure... but that's a definite 14.

At home in the TBR boxes:
John Crowley, Little, Big

I have to agree with the earlier poster who noted that not all of these are what I would call "mythic fiction" at all....

Just finished A Fistful of Sky by Nina Kiriki Hoffman. I liked it. The characters read a little younger than stated, but I liked the sibling relationships and entertaining predicaments. (3.5 stars)

Alice Hoffman, The Ice Queen
Thomas King, Green Grass, Running Water
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera
Susan Power, The Grass Dancer
N. Scott Momaday, The Ancient Child
Peter S. Beagle, A Fine and Private Place
Elizabeth Knox, The Vintner's Luck
Nina Kiriki Hoffman, A Fistful of Sky

One more to add to my list. The Antelope Wife by Louise Erdrich. (3 stars)

Alice Hoffman, The Ice Queen
Thomas King, Green Grass, Running Water
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera
Susan Power, The Grass Dancer
N. Scott Momaday, The Ancient Child
Peter S. Beagle, A Fine and Private Place
Elizabeth Knox, The Vintner's Luck
Nina Kiriki Hoffman, A Fistful of Sky
Louise Erdrich, The Antelope Wife

I am adding Human Croquetby Kate Atkinson to my list. I liked it but did not love it. I gave it 3 stars.


The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende 5*
Human Croquet by Kate Atkinson 3*
Someplace to Be Flying by Charles De Lint 5*
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel 4*
Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman,3*
Mortal Love by Elizabeth Hand 3*
The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson 3*
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez 4*
The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan,4*
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel by Susanna Clarke 2*
The Antelope Wife by Louise Erdrich 3*
Coyote Cowgirl by Kim Antieau 5*
Damascus Nights by Rafik Schami 4*
The Stolen Child by Keith Donahue 4*
Mistress of Spices by Chitra Bannerjee Divakaruni 3*
The Hummingbird’s Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea 5*
Lambs of God by Marele Day 4*

Rhys wrote: "Very little on this list seems 'mythic' to me. My 'to read' list is nearing 400 books as it is, so I doubt I'll get to any of these..."
Hi Rhys,Just curious why you would not consider the books on this list Mythic?

I'm adding House of Houses to my list. It was a slow read for me. Difficult to keep all of the characters straight, and the Spanish phrases tripped me up. Although, the abundance of characters, busy family dialog and Spanish language made the book feel very authentic and warm.

Alice Hoffman, The Ice Queen
Thomas King, Green Grass, Running Water
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera
Susan Power, The Grass Dancer
N. Scott Momaday, The Ancient Child
Peter S. Beagle, A Fine and Private Place
Elizabeth Knox, The Vintner's Luck
Nina Kiriki Hoffman, A Fistful of Sky
Louise Erdrich, The Antelope Wife
Pat Mora, House of Houses