Magical Settings

It's Thursday! (Quite possibly my favourite day in the blogging world.) Today's topic for The Book Chat is settings.

I'm going to use this week's topic to talk about my favourite category in fiction: magical realism. A book with well-written magical realism will steal my heart away. Done right, these books are able to create a setting that is contemporary and yet different enough to capture the imagination and really make you think. I love the idea of not knowing for certain what is real and what is magic. This category of fiction really merge the two together in a way that makes magic a part of every day life.

A few of my favourite books that use magical realism to create beautiful, thought-provoking, and enticing settings:

Wicked by Gregory Maguire

This book might lean a little towards the fantasy side for some, but Maguire's world is written so well that it evokes our own. Despite the talking animals and witches, the land of Oz is crafted in a way that makes you feel as though it is a neighbouring town.

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
If you have read this book, then you know how magical the setting is. The Night Circus cleverly crafts enchanted rooms that take all of your senses through crazy adventurea. I was absolutely lost in the setting the entire time I was reading this book.

Of Bees and Mist by Erick Setiawan

There are certain sights (a heavy mist surrounding a house) and sounds (the swarming buzz of bees) that connect to certain characters in the story, but you're not sure whether these sensory clues actually exist or not. A lot of the description is an extended metaphor, getting to know characters through the things they are associated with rather than any actual telling of personality. Setiawan's book presents a world filled with enchantment and lost (then regained) hope.