A Mythic Fiction Reading List

[Jalilah]

A Mythic Fiction Reading List
From Terri Windling’s Endicott Studio site:

http://endicottstudio.typepad.com/jom...

"The field of mythic fiction consists of contemporary works that draw on the timeless themes and symbolism of world mythology, medieval romance, folklore, fairy tales, and the oral storytelling tradition. Mythic fiction is set in the modern (or historical world), not in a far–off Never-never land. But it portrays a world infused with mythic archetypes, mystery, and magic. Works of mythic fiction can be found on the mainstream fiction shelves in the form of magic realism and surrealism, as well as in genre fiction, Young Adult fiction, and other parts of the bookstore.
The prevalence of mythic fiction today is due, we believe, to several factors: the influence of Latin American magical realism, the renaissance of adult fairy literature fostered by feminist writers such as Angela Carter and Anne Sexton, a re–awakening of interest in world mythology due to the works of Joseph Campbell and other scholars, and a decrease of cultural prejudice against non-realist forms of storytelling in generations weaned on C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and J.K. Rowling.
The following list contains 100 fine novels by 100 fine writers of contemporary mythic fiction. The books on our list range from charming, entertaining confections to powerful novels that rank among the best works of modern literature. The authors on our list range from promising first novelists to modern masters of mythic fiction. For more information, the title link will take you to the book's page on Amazon. (Please bear in mind that if you purchase a book through these links, a portion of the money you pay will be donated to our children's charity.)
For recommendations for younger readers, see Mythic Fiction for Young Adults by Julie Bartel."

1.Kathleen Alcala, Spirits of the Ordinary: A Tale of Casas Grandes
2.Isabel Allende, The House of the Spirits
3.Kim Antieau, Coyote Cowgirl
4.Kate Atkinson,Human Croquet
5.A.A. Attanasio,The Moon's Wife
6.Peter S. Beagle, A Fine and Private Place
7.Judith Berman,Bear Daughter
8.James P. Blaylock,Winter Tides
9.Richard Bowes,Minions of the Moon
10.Paul Brandon,Swim the Moon
11.Kevin Brockmeier, The Truth About Celia
12.Judy Budnitz,If I Told You Once
13.Jack Cady,The Off Season
14.Angela Carter,Nights at the Circus
15.Ana Castillo,So Far from God
16.Michael Chabon,The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay(winner of the Pulitzer Prize)
17.Vikram Chandra,Red Earth and Pouring Rain
18.Susanna Clarke,Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell(winner of the World Fantasy Award and the Mythopoeic Award)
19.Rick Collignon,Journal of Antonio Montoya: A Novel
20.John Crowley,Little, Big(winner of the World Fantasy Award and the Mythopoeic Award)
21.Achmat Dangor,Kafka's Curse
22.Catherine Temma Davidson, The Priest Fainted: A Novel
23.Gail Anderson–Dargatz,The Cure For Death By Lightning
24.Kathryn Davis,The Thin Place
25.Marele Day,Lambs of God
26.Seamus Deane,Reading in the Dark
27.Louis de Bernieres,The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts
28.Charles de Lint, Someplace to Be Flying
29.Bradley Denton,Lunatics
30.Lilas Desquiron,Reflections of Loko Miwa
31.Chitra Bannerjee Divakaruni,The Mistress of Spices
32.Keith Donohue,The Stolen Child
33.Marcia Douglas,Madame Fate (no link?)
34.Louise Erdrich,The Antelope Wife
(winner of the World Fantasy Award)
35.Laura Esquivel,Like Water for Chocolate
36.Sia Fiegel,They Who Do Not Grieve
37.Heinz Insu Fenkl,Memories of My Ghost Brother
38.Karen Joy Fowler,Sarah Canary
39.Jeffery Ford,The Girl in the Glass
40.Neil Gaiman,Anansi Boys
41.Alan Garner,Strandloper
42.Molly Gloss, Wild Life(winner of the Tiptree Award)
43.Lisa Goldstein,Tourists
44.Hiromi Goto, The Kappa Child(winner of the Tiptree Award)
45.Richard Grant,Tex and Molly in the Afterlife
46.Brian Hall,The Saskiad
47.Elizabeth Hand,Mortal Love
48.Joanne Harris, Chocolat
49.Peter Hoeg,The History Of Danish Dreams
50.Alice Hoffman,The Ice Queen
51.Nina Kiriki Hoffman, A Fistful of Sky
52.Linda Hogan, Power No Link?
53.Robert Holdstock,Mythago Wood
54.Nalo Hopkinson,The Salt Roads
55.Janette Turner Hospital, The Last Magician: A Novel
56.Keri Hulme, The Bone People(winner of the Booker Prize)
57.Graham Joyce, The Facts Of Life(winner of the World Fantasy Award)
58.Thomas King,Green Grass, Running Water
59.Elizabeth Knox,The Vintner's Luck
60.Larissa Lai, When Fox is a Thousand
61.Megan Lindholm, Cloven Hooves
62.Rob Levandoski,Fresh Eggs
63.Gabriel Garcia Marquez,Love in the Time of Cholera
64.Regina McBride,The Nature of Water and Air
65.Patricia A. McKillip,Stepping From the Shadows
66.Nega Mezleki,The God Who Begat a Jackal
67.Ib Michael,Prince
68.Steven Millhauser,Martin Dressler: The Tale of an American Dreamer
69.N. Scott Momaday,Ancient Child
70.Christopher Moore,Coyote Blue
71.Pat Mora,House of Houses
72.Haruki Murakami,Kafka on the Shore
73.Lilian Nattel,The River Midnight
74.Ben Okri, The Famished Road (winner of the Booker Prize)
75.Louis Owens, Bone Game: A Novel
76.Gisèle Pineau,The Drifting of Spirits
77.Susan Power,The Grass Dancer
78.Tim Powers,Last Call
79.Eden Robinson,Monkey Beach
80.Matt Ruff,Fool on the Hill
81.Salman Rushdie,The Satanic Verses(winner of the Booker Prize)
82.Geoff Ryman, Was No Link?
83.Rafik Schami,Damascus Nights
84.Han Shaogong, A Dictionary of Maqiao
85.Steven Sherrill,The Minotaur Takes a Cigarette Break
86.Will Shetterly, Dogland
87.Leslie Marmon Silko,Almanac of the Dead
88.Carol Ann Sima, The Mermaid Who Came Between Them No Link?
89.Johanna Sinsalo,Troll: A Love Story (winner of the Tiptree Award)
90.Nancy Springer, The Blind God Is Watching
91.Sean Stewart, Mockingbird
92.Amy Tan,The Hundred Secret Senses
93.Amos Tutuola,The Palm-Wine Drinkard & My Life in the Bush of Ghosts
94.Jane Urqhart, Away no link?
95.Luis Alberto Urrea,The Hummingbird's Daughter
96.Catherynne M. Valente,Yume No Hon: The Book of Dreams
97.Alfredo Vea Jr., La Marravilla no link?
98.Jeanette Winterson, Sexing the Cherry
99.Gao Xinghian, Soul Mountain
100.Mia Yun House of the Winds

[Melanti]

More links:
La Maravilla by Alfredo Vea
Away by Jane Urquhart
The Mermaid That Came Between Them by Carol Ann Sima
Was by Geoff Ryman
Power by Linda Hogan
Chocolat by Joanne Harris
Madam Fate by Marcia Douglas

I'm only at 21/100 on this list with just another 7 on Mt. TBR. But again, these ladies have good taste.

[Katy]

Another good list. Thanks Jalilah

[Leah]

And, just in case other Into the Forest members don't know about it, there's a great group for Endicott / Mythic Fiction at http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/4...

[Jalilah]

Leah wrote: "And, just in case other Into the Forest members don't know about it, there's a great group for Endicott / Mythic Fiction at http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/4..."

That is a great group too! I think many of us are in it. I am always surprised how many Fantasy and Fairy Tale lovers don't know about the Endicott lists. They are so fantastic that I just have to share!

[Jalilah]

Up to now I have read 22 of them:

The Grass Dancer by Susan Power 5*
Kafka on the Shoreby Haruki Murakami 5*
The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende 5*
Human Croquet by Kate Atkinson 3*
Someplace to Be Flying by Charles De Lint 5*
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel 5*
Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman,3*
Mortal Love by Elizabeth Hand 3*
The Salt Roads by Nalo Hopkinson 3*
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez 4*
The Hundred Secret Senses by Amy Tan,4*
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrel by Susanna Clarke 2*
The Antelope Wife by Louise Erdrich 4*
Coyote Cowgirl by Kim Antieau 5*
Damascus Nights by Rafik Schami 4*
The Stolen Child by Keith Donahue 4*
Mistress of Spices by Chitra Bannerjee Divakaruni 4*
The Hummingbird’s Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea 5*
Lambs of God by Marele Day 4*
Monkey Beach by Eden Robinson 4*
Coyote Blue by Christopher Moore 2*
A Fistful of Sky by Nina Kiriki Hoffman 4*s

Many of Latin American titles I would have considered to be in the Magical Realism category and I read them many years ago

[Leah]

Jalilah wrote: That is a great group too!..."

What's funny is I tend to use the Endicott group for their lists, shelves, etc. but I "hang out" more over here.

[Gene]

I've only read KAFKA, FINE AND PRIVATE, and KAVALIER & KLAY, so I can't determine from that what the compilers consider to be "mythic fiction." I would consider Beagle's LAST UNICORN to be much more mythic than PRIVATE PLACE, and not just because it has mythical beasties in it.

[Jalilah]

Gene wrote: "I've only read KAFKA, FINE AND PRIVATE, and KAVALIER & KLAY, so I can't determine from that what the compilers consider to be "mythic fiction." I would consider Beagle's LAST UNICORN to be much mo..."

I believe The Last Unicorn is not in because it is a children's book. I have not read A Fine and Private Place, so I can't comment.
The House of the Spirits is one of my all time favourite novels but I also would not have considered it "Mythic". It is as Melanti already pointed out, Terri Wendling simply has great taste, so it does not really matter. I know this is a list I can depend on when looking for something good to read.

[Julia]

I've read 14 of them. These are great lists!

[Jalilah]

Julia wrote: "I've read 14 of them. These are great lists!"

Yes, isn't it a Fantastic list! Did you have a favourite?
I have now read 23 of them. I can add my most recent read When Fox is a Thousand by Larissa Lai. It was a very enjoyable, interesting and thought provoking read!

[Melanti]

This page talks a bit about what she counts as mythic fiction (as opposed to urban fantasy or magical realism) and why:

http://www.endicott-studio.com/wtrm/w...

Still doesn't quite explain match up, especially on books like The House of the Spirits. I'm sure some of them are on the list simply because they liked them a lot.

[Jalilah]

A great article Melanti! Thanks for sharing. It explains all the reasons why this has become my favourite type of literature. Yes, maybe there a myth we are unaware of in The House of the Spirits!

[Gene]

I just reread Rushdie's MIDNIGHT'S CHILDREN and would definitely deem it "mythic" as well.

[Leah]

Hmm, I was re-reading through the Mythic list on JoMA and noticed that it's changed. Jeanette Winterson's Sexing the Cherry, and Nancy Springer, The Blind God Is Watching are gone. Helen Wecker, The Golem and the Jinni, and Marly Youmans, Thaliad, have both been added. I assume these were added in 2014.

I didn't realize this was a "living" list, still being revised. So double thanks (!) to Jalilah for making this post so we'll have a copy of the list as of June 2013.

[Jalilah]

Leah wrote: "Hmm, I was re-reading through the Mythic list on JoMA and noticed that it's changed. JJeanette Winterson's Sexing the Cherry, and Nancy Springer, The Blind God Is Watching are gone. Helen Wecker, T..."

I had not realized it was a living list either!
I wonder why she took some out?