readers advisory for all discussion

I have been on the search for a read like Aimee Benders The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake but I can't seem to find anything like it. I love Alice Hoffman and have read most of her novels but I am looking for something not as...dark maybe? I want something with magic laced in everyday life. I want to feel like the magic is believable though and not far reached. I have read all of Sarah Addison Allen books and enjoyed them but they didn't seem as "real" as The Particular Sadness. Any suggestions?

okay, i haven't read the bender; can you just give me a little more about what you would like to have replicated in another book? because there are tons of magical realism books out there, but i just need to know a little more about what kind you want. lighthearted i get, i just don't know what you mean by "real."like, the attitude towards the magic is casual?? accepted??

Maybe another one of Bender's books. I loved The Girl in the Flammable Skirt. You could also try something by Etgar Keret.

yes, please give us more details! but some magic real i liked:

allende's eva luna, both short stories AND novel

Stories of Eva Luna

lorrie moore books Like Life

judy budnitz Flying Leap: Stories

amy hempel Reasons to Live

and 3 of my favorite recent novels
one about uruguay The Invisible Mountain

and 2 about mexico The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire

Six Kinds of Sky: A Collection of Short Fiction

Sorry I didn't explain myself well. When I said real I mean like every day life. I want the situations in the book to be realistic. I think the reason I am having a hard time finding a book like Particular Sadness is because I don't really know how to describe what exactly I loved so much about it. I loved the connection the main character had with her brother and her mother. I loved how she was able to get to know her mother through her cooking and was able to see her as a person not just her caretaker. I still don't think I am making much sense so how about just some suggestions for some magic realism? Sorry!

no, i have a better handle on this now. i will provide a list this evening from my thoughts...

ooh, i have a moment after all. try this one: The Monsters of Templeton. i loved it - it has gentle magic realism, but also a great story of a woman dealing with an unexpected pregnancy and trying to solve the mystery of her own paternity. good stuff.

also maybe this one from Christie Hodgen Elegies for the Brokenhearted: A Novel

or this one by Aoibheann Sweeney Among Other Things, I've Taken Up Smoking

or this one by Minrose Gwin The Queen of Palmyra: A Novel

or Kate Atkinson, all hers are superb Behind the Scenes at the Museum

Thanks!

Have you read Kelly Link? I've seen her grouped with Aimee Bender before although I've never read Bender so I don't know how apt the comparison is. Also, she's a short story writer so I'm not sure if she would fit the bill for ya (seems like you have a preference of novels over short stories but I could be totally wrong there). Her first book, Stranger Things Happen, is my favorite but a lot of people prefer her second collection, Magic for Beginners. I can't recommend her highly enough!

you can also try:

Winter's Tale which is a massive classic of magical realism, or anything by Steven Millhauser. my personal favorite of his is Portrait of a Romantic, which is out of print, but should be easy enough to find. Enchanted Night is also very very good, and very short, if you are looking for a quickie. also good is Salamander, which is both nice and magical and also a good book for book lovers -very fun read. oh, and A Trip To The Stars, which seems to be pretty universally loved. that is one i have been meaning to read again...

also Trash Sex Magic, even though i personally didn't like it - this is probably my failure rather than the book, because most people seem to really like it.

This is a genre I like too, and I agree it is hard to explain exactly what sets it apart. Here are a few I liked:

The Ghost's Child

The Replacement

Pretty Monsters: Stories

Tales from Outer Suburbia

Bird

Hope those help... :)

As a 4th and 5th grader I loved:
Half Magic (Tales of Magic, #1)
by Edward Eager
I read it later with my son when he was that age, and I still loved it. It tends more towards humor than Lemon Cake does, but someone on this thread might like it!

I'm late to the party on this thread, but I second the rec for Benders first collection The Girl in the Flammable Skirt, and Megan's recs of Tales from Outer Suburbia and anything Kelly Link, really.

These two are a little bit darker, but Jessica Anthony's The Convalescent (mixes hungarian history, satire, and kafka) is quite good, as is a recent re-issue of Barbara Comyns's Who Was Changed and Who Was Dead (which is about a flooded british town).

Tuck wrote: "also maybe this one from Christie Hodgen Elegies for the Brokenhearted: A Novel

or this one by Aoibheann Sweeney Among Other Things, I've Taken Up Smoking

or this o..."

I really liked the sweeney.

I disliked this book but I think Like Water for Chocolate might be the kind of thing you are looking for.

also The History of History is a really cool magical realism book, although the magical realism gets pretty out there, it's a bit depressing and has a strong descent into madness component.

I can't wait to get started on these! Thanks again!

do come back and tell us what you thought afterward, okay?? wheee fun!

any thoughts?

Sorry I didn't check in sooner!

So far I have read

The Monsters of Templeton
This book was amazing. It was a great recommendation for what I was looking for. I felt a very strong connection to not only the main character but also to the "monster". The magical realism was strong enough to give me a touch of magic but didn't take away from the realness of the characters story.

Elegies for the Broken Hearted: A Novel
I need to add this to the tear jerker thread. I sobbed all the way through this one. I loved the way the main characters story was told.

I plan on trying to read everything that was suggested.

great! thank you! it helps me out a lot to have follow-up information, so i can see if this is going well. i'm glad you are finding some good books!

we will be here, if you have any other requests...