5 Magical Realism Books in Honor of the 30th Anniversary of Isabel Allende’s House of the Spirits

Isabel Allende’s landmark House of the Spirits, which follows four generations of the Trueba family throughout political conflict in Chile, was published 30 years ago. The novel is notably characterized by its magical realism—the blending of the magical and paranormal with reality—and was awarded Chile’s Paranorma Literario award.

Here are 5 magical realist texts that sit alongside House of the Spirits within the literary genre:

1. Cellophane by Marie Arana

Published in 2006, Cellophane echoes many of the themes and character development in House of the Spirits. Fans of Allende would adore Arana.

2. Dust Tracks on a Road by Zora Neale Hurston

Though this is Hurston’s memoir, her detailed accounts of her childhood stories and imaginations—from the elaborate saga of Miss Corn-Cob and Mr. Sweet Smell to the alligator man—as well as her real-life visions evoke magical realist imagery.

3. Mama Day by Gloria Naylor

With influences from classical mythology and African American folklore, this novel takes place on the island of Willow Springs off the coast of Georgia and records the magical story of Mama Day, her family, and her encounter with dark magic.

4. Like Water For Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

Esquivel mingles the domestic sphere with the supernatural in her famous novel about Tita and her mystical cooking that challenges conventions of tradition.

5. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

One of the most defining and most often cited magical realism texts, the novel follows the Buendîa family and the crossing between dream, invented, and real worlds.