My choice for book club - want some magic realism I haven't read

[messybessie]

I have to choose a book for my book club, but it has to be one I haven't read.

I love a bit of magic realism and it came up as a theme in our last book (The Passion).

I've read Midnight's Children, One Hundred Years of Solitude, Life of Pi.

What else?

Have you read any Angela Carter - Nights At The Circus?

Yes! Nights at the Circus, or Wise Children, by Angela Carter. She's addictive.

Have you read " like water for chocolate" ? I loved it even though it made me cry.

Ah yes, The Magic Toyshop was discussed at length alongside the passion so I feel like we have 'done' Carter. (Not true at all but will look like I have no imagination!)

Yes, but you can say that THe Magic Toyshop was early Carter, whereas Nights at the Circus and Wise Children are later. Maybe you could also discuss them in terms of her later work having a much more feminist slant than the earlier stuff....

How about Louis de Bernières? The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts, Señor Vivo and the Coca Lord and The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman.

Agree that early and late Carter are distinctive. I think it would genuinely be a nice follow on to do a late Carter novel after that discussion. I think Wise Children is perhaps easier to get into though Nights at the Circus was the first one of hers I ever read and it was just dazzling.

That de Bernières trio is gruesome but I only liked the Turkish one - birds, wings, something? He actually has something to say there, otherwise not sure what the point of him is.

Can't quite believe you have written Carter off after a discussion about the magic toyshop!

This is probably a bit obvious but Murakami? Isabel Allende? Toni Morrison?

We've done Norwegian Wood but I was away for that one!

I've never read the House of Spirits though so that is a good choice.

Is it hard going? The last book I chose was 600+ pages and I don't want to get ejected!

The conjuror's bird?

Thanks for your suggestions - we'll make sure Tilly sees this - do keep your suggestions coming on this thread.

RachelMumsnet - did not realise that this was a thread for suggestions for MN bookclub, will be back with my choices!