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Every Bone a Prayer


The the story of one tough-as-nails girl whose choices are few but whose fight ...
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What was your experience with magical realism books before reading this one? Do other books or authors who've written in this style come to mind?

Created: 07/21/20

Replies: 18

Posted Jul. 21, 2020 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
davinamw

Join Date: 10/15/10

Posts: 3442

What was your experience with magical realism books before reading this one? Do other books or authors who've written in this style come to mind?

Every Bone a Prayer's genre is magical realism. What was your experience with magical realism books before reading this one? Do other books or authors who've written in this style come to mind?


Posted Aug. 04, 2020 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
rebeccar

Join Date: 03/13/12

Posts: 548

RE: What was your experience with magical realism books before reading this one? Do other books or authors who've written in this style come to mind?

I think of the writings of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I have only read a couple of his books and did not find them an easy read. I must be someone for whom magical realism does not work. I think I prefer a book be one or the other - realistic or fantasy.


Posted Aug. 04, 2020 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
gerryp

Join Date: 08/04/20

Posts: 32

RE: What was your experience with magical realism books before reading this one? Do other books or authors who've written in this style come to mind?

I have not read any magical books, I probably would not have read this if I realized, the magical parts.


Posted Aug. 04, 2020 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Maggie

Join Date: 01/01/16

Posts: 434

RE: What was your experience with magical realism books before reading this one? Do other books or authors who've written in this style come to mind?

I agree with gerryp I am not in to magical realism books.


Posted Aug. 05, 2020 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Kathleen V

Join Date: 06/02/20

Posts: 14

RE: What was your experience with magical realism books before reading this one? Do other books or authors who've written in this style come to mind?

I've read and written a lot of magical realism. I enjoy it and also think it's done best when it's more minimal (Misty talking to the animals would be an example of magical realism that worked for me, creating a deeper understanding of Misty as a character and also helping advance elements of the plot for me). This book is definitely heavy on the magic, and parts of that didn't really work for me. I found them distracting and confusing, rather than insightful.

Misty's communion with the animals holds elements of other magical realism texts I've read. The glass creatures, the connection with Caroline, and the skin/bones piece were new concepts to me.


Posted Aug. 05, 2020 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
kenanr

Join Date: 02/20/14

Posts: 41

RE: What was your experience with magical realism books before reading this one? Do other books or authors who've written in this style come to mind?

Tom Robbins comes to mind, and in the context of his story telling the magical realism makes perfect sense. Pete Hammil's Snow in August is another example for me. Alice Hoffman can be a bit too much for me in this genre. That is sort of where I landed here. Misty's ability to communicate with animals and trees and inanimate objects in this story wove well into the nature of a lonely and confusing childhood, and the mountain setting where potions and spells are part of the local lore. And the shedding of skin, could easily be seen as a metaphor. It took a hard turn when the objects that grew in the garden were there for the entire community to react to and interact with. I am not entirely sure that it was necessary to the plot outside of it being the impetus for William's continued abuse of Misty. So, while it did not turn me off as it did many readers, it did feel a bit out of left field for me.


Posted Aug. 05, 2020 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
dianeh

Join Date: 08/01/16

Posts: 70

RE: What was your experience with magical realism books before reading this one? Do other books or authors who've written in this style come to mind?

I have not read magical realism before and honestly I cannot say I particularly enjoyed this aspect of the book. I could empathize with Misty and was very interested in her story and her coping techniques but, I found the magic, for me, detracted from the book


Posted Aug. 05, 2020 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Kate B

Join Date: 03/11/20

Posts: 11

RE: What was your experience with magical realism books before reading this one? Do other books or authors who've written in this style come to mind?

I don't think I've ever read a book in which magical realism played such a key part, but a number of South American authors use magical realism - Isabel Allende, for example.


Posted Aug. 06, 2020 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Sunflowersky1982

Join Date: 10/09/19

Posts: 22

RE: What was your experience with magical realism books before reading this one? Do other books or authors who've written in this style come to mind?

I have not read a lot of magical realism, but after looking into this sub-genre it may be something I may have to look more into.. some books that I think I may check out that have magical realism are ERin Morgenstern's books such as Night Circus and Ruth Emmie Lang's "Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance" both of which have been sitting on my TBR for awhile.
I love books with all out magic and paranormal so this may become a new favorite genre!


Posted Aug. 06, 2020 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
mmr

Join Date: 08/06/20

Posts: 10

RE: What was your experience with magical realism books before reading this one? Do other books or authors who've written in this style come to mind?

The magical realism in Every Bone a Prayer was beautifully created. Subtle and mystical. Water colored and fluid like mercury. If you like book that include magical realism, then this book is for you.


Posted Aug. 06, 2020 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
mmr

Join Date: 08/06/20

Posts: 10

RE: What was your experience with magical realism books before reading this one? Do other books or authors who've written in this style come to mind?

I am not a fan of magical realism nor sci fi, but in this book it worked well. I think the darkness and mystery of a " holler" lends itself to the devise, and within the world of childhood, it also works well.


Posted Aug. 07, 2020 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
MarieA

Join Date: 10/12/11

Posts: 256

RE: What was your experience with magical realism books before reading this one? Do other books or authors who've written in this style come to mind?

I have read some other books which contain magical realism, but I am not a fan of this particular method of fusing realism with fantasy. For readers who enjoy this technique, I would recommend EVERY BONE A PRAYER.


Posted Aug. 07, 2020 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
aileen414

Join Date: 02/23/19

Posts: 8

RE: What was your experience with magical realism books before reading this one? Do other books or authors who've written in this style come to mind?

I had read Isabel Allende before. I do not mind magical realism when done subtle. I felt that the magical realism in this book was too heavy-handed and confusing. It was challenging to piece together what was real and what wasn't.


Posted Aug. 07, 2020 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
ColoradoGirl

Join Date: 05/16/16

Posts: 149

RE: What was your experience with magical realism books before reading this one? Do other books or authors who've written in this style come to mind?

I've read a few magical realism books and I like them for the most part. Alice Hoffman's "The World that We Knew" is a recent example. I also really liked "The Snow Child" and Sarah Addison Allen is good too. I guess for me it's a little different and adds to the escapism of reading.


Posted Aug. 08, 2020 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Jessica F

Join Date: 05/23/20

Posts: 165

RE: What was your experience with magical realism books before reading this one? Do other books or authors who've written in this style come to mind?

There were aspects of magical realism that were too far out for me. I was totally lost on the skin and bones thing as well as the magical glass statues growing out of the yard. However, I do believe it's possible to connect with the deceased (ie: Caroline), and I think we can connect to innate objects and "feel" the history of past places/things (ie: the history of the trailer).


Posted Aug. 08, 2020 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
windellh

Join Date: 11/05/17

Posts: 72

RE: What was your experience with magical realism books before reading this one? Do other books or authors who've written in this style come to mind?

Reminds me somewhat of Fredrik Backman. His was a more balanced approach.


Posted Aug. 08, 2020 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
Harley's Mom

Join Date: 02/21/19

Posts: 44

RE: What was your experience with magical realism books before reading this one? Do other books or authors who've written in this style come to mind?

I don't read a lot of magical realism authors but two that immediately come to mind are Alice Hoffman and Neil Gaiman. The way they handle magical realism in their stories is enhanced by subtlety, not the heavy handed treatment in Blooms' book. Another author using this technique is Sarah Addison Allen, who uses magical realism in a whimsical, light way.


Posted Aug. 11, 2020 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
analisea

Join Date: 08/11/20

Posts: 3

RE: What was your experience with magical realism books before reading this one? Do other books or authors who've written in this style come to mind?

I agree with a couple of other folks who mentioned Isabel Allende. I happened to read House of Spirits a couple of weeks ago, and Every Bone A Prayer definitely reminded me stylistically of Allende's work. Looking back, I've realized the magical realism elements need to be more subtle for me to enjoy the book--the plot revolving around the magical realism was too much for me.


Posted Aug. 13, 2020 Go to Top | Go to bottom | link | alert
PiperUp

Join Date: 10/27/15

Posts: 146

RE: What was your experience with magical realism books before reading this one? Do other books or authors who've written in this style come to mind?

I'm usually a huge fan of magical realism. Like others, I love Alice Hoffman, Isabel Allende, & Sarah Addison Allen. These three always manage to include magical realism without causing the reader to think "This is completely unrealistic."


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