Showing titles in Magical Realism

It is 1917, and while war wages across Europe, in the heart of London, there is a place of hope and enchantment. The Emporium sells toys that capture the imagination of children and adults alike: patchwork dogs that seem alive, toy boxes that are bigger on the inside, soldiers that can fight battles of their own. Into this family business comes young Cathy Wray, running away from a shameful past. The Emporium takes her in, makes her one of its own.

The Lollipop Shoes picks up the story of Vianne and her daughters and takes us on a magical and spellbinding journey to Paris. Exquisitely written with the fluid and beautiful prose we expect from Joanne Harris, it's a wonderful and captivating read, full of flavours, tastes and fragrances...

Having married her childhood sweetheart, Riko now finds herself trapped in a relationship that has been soured by infidelity. One day, by chance, she runs into her old friend Mr. Takaoka, who offers friendship, love, and an unusual escape: he teaches her the trick of living inside her dreams. And so, each night, she sinks into another life: first as a high-ranking courtesan in the 17th century, and then as a serving lady to a princess in the late Middle Ages.

More innocent victims are taken as the atrocities of the war between races continue, and Kenna’s desire to protect her people drives her to reckless behavior, dragging her chosen with her. The closer she gets to taking the throne, the more she sees the devastating toll that being the princess has on those she loves, leaving her questioning whether loving her is truly worth the cost. With each passing day, the queen’s men close in, relentless in their pursuit, and when the unthinkable happens, the rebellion is left picking up the shattered pieces of what remains.

The Book of X tells the tale of Cassie, a girl born with her stomach twisted in the shape of a knot. From childhood with her parents on the family meat farm, to a desk job in the city, to finally experiencing love, she grapples with her body, men, and society, all the while imagining a softer world than the one she is in. Twining the drama of the everyday - school-age crushes, paying bills, the sickness of parents - with the surreal-rivers of thighs, men for sale, and fields of throats - Cassie's realities alternate to create a blurred, fantastic world of haunting beauty.

When ballet dancer Clara Campbell arrives in New Orleans, lonely and homesick, she is immediately captivated by the story of Windisle Plantation and the tragic tale that is said to have transpired beyond its gate. Legend has it that it is abandoned by all living souls, but to Clara’s great surprise, it is not a ghost she hears through the stone wall surrounding the property, but a flesh and blood man: a scarred stranger with a pain deeper and darker than the churning waters of the Mississippi river that flows beside his self-imposed prison.

Cult author David Keenan's most mature, magical and profoundly realised novel yet, centred on a young boy in Glasgow 'A challenging, unconventional and daring piece of fiction ' THE INDEPENDENT 'Blending emotional sincerity with pulpy pastiche' THE SUNDAY TIMES 'Psychedelic post-punk fantasia'...

Brought to you by Penguin. **WINNER of the EU Prize for Literature** Dr Jonathan Murray fears his new-born daughter is not as harmless as she seems. Sammy Agnew is wrestling with his dark past, and fears the violence in his blood lurks in his son, too. The city is in flames and the authorities...

Janet Williams is practically invisible. If only she had the pluck to speak up at work, flirt with the handsome barista she sees every day, and realize how special she is. When a magical wig offers Janet a chance to shake things up, will she dare to try a bold new style? The voice in her head - flashy and fierce, with an unbridled southern drawl - tells her to go for it. And once she does, there’s no turning back.

Emme Wynn has wanted nothing more her whole life than to feel like part of a family. Having grown up on the run with her con artist mother, she’s been shuffled from town to town, drawn into bad situations, and has learned some unsavory habits that she’s tried hard to overcome. When her estranged grandmother tracks her down out of the blue and extends a job offer—helping to run her booth at an open-air marketplace in small-town Sweetgrass, Alabama—Emme is hopeful that she’ll finally be able to plant the roots she’s always dreamed of.

Emmeline lives on a remote island with her father, who teaches her about the natural world through her senses. What he won’t explain are the mysterious scents stored in glass bottles that line the walls of their cabin, or the origin of the machine that creates them. As Emmeline grows, however, so too does her curiosity, until one day the unforeseen happens, and Emmeline is vaulted out into the real world—a place of love, betrayal, ambition, and revenge. To understand her past, Emmeline must unlock the clues to her identity.

Fel'annár is a gifted immortal warrior embarking on his first patrol into the Deep Forest. Half-Silvan, half-Alpine, he battles the enemy from without, and the prejudice from within. But he learns more than just warfare when an arcane power begins to emerge, one he cannot control. While friendships are forged, a destiny unfolds, one that is tied to a past he knows nothing about. For others, though, it is only a matter of time before the truth is revealed, and the danger becomes real.

Random House presents the audiobook edition of The Mermaid and Mrs Hancock by Imogen Hermes Gowar, read by Juliet Stevenson. This voyage is special. It will change everything… One September evening in 1785, the merchant Jonah Hancock hears urgent knocking on his front door. One of his captains...

A woman meets her next-door neighbor and loans her a spatula, then starts suffering horrific gaps in her memory. A man, feeling jilted by an unrequited love, becomes obsessed with sorting through his neighbors' garbage in the belief that it will teach him how to better relate to people. A landlord decides to raise the rent, and his tenants hatch a plan to kill him at a team-building retreat. In 10 captivating, unnerving stories, Flowers of Mold presents a range of ordinary individuals who have found themselves left behind by an increasingly urbanized and fragmented world.

Dal momento in cui la piccola Klara Gulla viene al mondo, il cuore del padre Jan comincia a battere e il miracolo di quel battito, di quella tardiva scoperta di un'emozione mai provata, della felicità e della sofferenza che ne sono le immancabili compagne, trasformerà tutta la sua vita, dandole valore e significato. L'amore diventa la lente attraverso la quale vede la realtà e, quando questa è troppo squallida e amara, la trasfigura.

Tao est une diseuse de bonne aventure itinérante. Mais elle ne prédit que de petites fortunes : les succès modestes, les flirts ou les bonnes surprises du quotidien. Loin d'elle les visions de guerre ou de gloire, car l'expérience lui a appris que les grandes visions ont toujours un prix terrible. Mais quand sa route croise celle d'un père qui cherche à retrouver sa fille disparue, les murs qu'elle a élevés autour d'elle menacent de tomber, et les ombres du passé de resurgir.

A luminous coming-of-age fantasy about creativity, courage, and the things we leave unfinished, The Library of Forgotten Dreams reminds us that every dream left untended still waits to be reclaimed—and that some stories will not rest until they are told.

What if a town could remember what you forgot? Fairchance, Pennsylvania was always quiet—a sleepy town where the days blurred and the past stayed buried. But when Wayne Clark receives a mysterious letter with no return address and a hauntingly familiar message, the stillness begins to tremble. As memories long-lost begin to surface, Wayne and childhood friend Lucille are pulled into a journey through forgotten summers, hidden tunnels, and a town that seems to breathe with memory itself.

Two twins. An unbroken bond. A truth unspoken. The only thing James and Johnny Golden have ever had is each other. For as long as she can remember, James's deep connection with her twin brother, Johnny, has gone beyond intuition - she can feel what he feels. So, when Johnny is killed in a tragic...

This “sweeping intergenerational saga" tells the story of a pampered and defiant South Korean matriarch thrust into the afterlife from which she seeks a second chance to make amends (Kirstin Chen)—and fights off a tragic curse that could devastate generations to come. In South Korea, a...