s p o t l i g h t
MAGICAL REALISM'S
GREATEST LOVE STORIES
[w e l l,   f i f t e e n   o f   t h e m …]

MAGICAL REALISM generally succeeds on multiple levels; that is, it includes far more than the extraordinary communing with the ordinary. Without its elements of mystery, suspense, history, psychology and romance, magical realism would be nothing. Of that last element, magical realist authors Gabriel García Márquez and Jorge Amado would be vehement. Love makes the world go 'round, regardless how off kilter that world might be.

If you're in the mood for something incurably romantic, but perhaps a little out there on the fringe of What's Real, look no further. We've compiled a short list of titles you should be able to find easily, all of them recommended for the reader looking for sensuality, rapture, romance—whether it be light and comedic or a Big Time Love Story.

When it comes to romantic novels, people will argue passionately for their favorites, so this list is by no means inclusive and has been arranged in alphabetical order for fairness's sake. Watch out for cupid in these titles: he wears many unusual masks in this selection of love stories.

THE BOOK OF THE THOUSAND NIGHTS AND A NIGHT
translated and annotated by Sir Richard F. Burton
      LOVE STORIES: A newly wedded bride tells romantic and fabulous bedtime tales to her suspicious husband in order to delay what surely will be her beheading

DON QUIXOTE
Miguel de Cervantes
      ENDLESS LOVE: The knight errant spends his entire life searching for the woman of his dreams ~ link

DONA FLOR AND HER TWO HUSBANDS
Jorge Amado
      UNTIL DEATH DO US PART? Widow remarries only to discover her desire for her first husband is so strong it brings him back from the grave

GABRIELA, CLOVE AND CINNAMON
Jorge Amado
      WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE: Ragamuffin takes on a job at a café, bringing with her that special secret ingredient: love

GREEN MANSIONS
W.H. Hudson
      HARD TO GET: One man's search for a lovely and mysterious bird-woman~ link

INEZ
Carlos Fuentes
       FROM THE DAWN OF TIME: Primal—yet utterly civilized—love story revolving around a controlling conductor of Faust and his enchanting diva~ link

LIKE WATER FOR CHOCOLATE
Laura Esquivel
       HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS: The recipe for romance in a houseful of daughters can only be properly conjured in the kitchen

LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA
Gabriel García Márquez
      LOVE CONQUERS ALL: A wonderful tangle of love's longings in grand Marquesian fashion

MARU
Bessie Head
      HEARTS AND MINDS: A story of racial prejudice conquered by idealistic love in a small African town

THE MASTER AND MARGARITA
Mikhail Bulgakov
      ROMANCE FOR THE AGES: Among other things, this is the story of separated lovers who cross paths in two times: modern-day Moscow and the days of Pontius Pilate

THE MISTRESS OF SPICES
Chita Divakaruni
      LOVE POTION #9: A romantic story of love, spices and magic

THE PASSION
Jeanette Winterson
      LOVE TRIANGLE: Unrequited love between Napoleon's cook, a cross-dressing casino dealer with webbed feet from Venice and the beautiful woman that comes between them ~ link

THE ROAD TO FEZ
Ruth Knafo Setton
      OBSESSION: a forbidden romance pursued despite Jewish v. Arab difference and ancient v. modern values

WIDE SARGASSO SEA
Jean Rhys
      THE OTHER WOMAN: Gothic romance that re-imagines Jane Eyre in tropical multi-dimension~ link

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Rev'd 2006/02/10