magical realism – Page 15 – Cannonball Read 17

Melancholy and Malevolent Creatures

Willful Creatures by Aimee Bender

August 19, 2020 by caragwapa Leave a Comment

I read a review of this book somewhere on the internet, a long time ago. Maybe on Pajiba, maybe on Cannonball read, I don’t really remember. But I did write the title and the author down in my little notebook, along with the dozens (maybe hundreds) of other books I plan on reading, and movies and TV shows that I plan on seeing. This year, before the world changed forever, a few friends came over to hang out and one of them brought the book […]

“There are albino peacocks kept in the garden at church. They hide their babies on the roof. When the mother bird escapes onto the street she is occasionally lured back with dog biscuits. One day she didn’t return. In a dream, I stuff her in my backpack. The peacock’s periscope neck peeks out.”

Imaginary Museums by Nicolette Polek

August 3, 2020 by andtheIToldYouSos Leave a Comment

This collection feels like rifling around in your bag for your phone, but finding a rabbit instead. Did you put that rabbit there? Were you really looking for your phone? Where did the rabbit come from? Why can’t you remember why you went to look in your bag in the first place? Is that your bag? I enjoy very short fiction, and much like Sing to It, this collection is also crammed with very short stories. Nicolette Polek has a gift, and she can say more […]

“Books are Doors and I wanted out”

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix B. Harrow

August 2, 2020 by Malin Leave a Comment

#CBR12 Bingo: Debut Official book description: In a sprawling mansion filled with peculiar treasures, January Scaller is a curiosity herself. As the ward of the wealthy Mr. Locke, she feels little different from the artefacts that decorate the halls: carefully maintained, largely ignored, and utterly out of place. Then she finds a strange book. A book that carries the scent of other worlds, and tells a tale of secret doors, of love, adventure and danger. Each page turn reveals impossible truths about the world […]

‘Geoffrey’s mum told us “If you take a hen’s egg from under her and she just looks at you and doesn’t do anything, put that egg back.” Peace and quiet is a sign that something’s wrong. Peace and quiet is like a broken response, a sign of people in pieces.’

The Opposite House by Helen Oyeyemi

July 28, 2020 by andtheIToldYouSos Leave a Comment

Helen Oyeyemi is a story teller. Her work is steeped in religion, folklore, and mythology. Her characters breathe prayer and power. She will grab your attention quick, and send your spiraling through your own identity. Her stories whip in and out of the fantastic; one moment a character is studying for an exam, and the next they are overcome by the power of an ancient healer. She is one of my favorite authors. She’s absolute magic. I picked up What is Not Yours is Not Yours when […]

cbr12bingo – Debut

Boys of Alabama by Genevieve Hudson

July 26, 2020 by andtheIToldYouSos Leave a Comment

Oh dear. Boys of Alabama is a lot. In Genevieve Hudson’s debut novel we are introduced to small-town Delilah, Alabama through the eyes of Max- the new kid in town. Max and his family just moved to rural America from urban Germany, and we leap into the culture shock with them. Delilah has two religions: Christianity and football- and the two form a dangerous communion. Max is sensitive, quiet, and gay. He can also bring dead things back to life; one touch and wilted flowers bloom. […]

One of the best books I’ll read this year

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune

July 11, 2020 by Malin Leave a Comment

#CBR12 Bingo: I Wish (Travelling anywhere right now seems like an utter impossibility, but I would love to be able to hang out on Marsyas Island with its cast of unique residents) Linus Baker does not live an exciting or interesting life. When he’s not visiting orphanages and checking up on children and teens with unusual abilities or magical powers, he sits in his utterly anonymous cubicle and writes detailed and thorough reports. He goes home to his non-descript little house, occasionally exchanges words with his […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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