Books like 'The Illumination'
Readers who enjoyed The Illumination by Kevin Brockmeier also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
contemporary fantasy supernatural psychological magical-realism literary-fiction dystopia medical spirituality paranormal
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Jack Be Quick by Fiona Quinn
Rated: 4.60 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsStrike Force: An Iniquus Romantic Suspense Mystery Thriller The prayer on her lips is JACK Be Quick. It’s been months since ex-Navy SEAL Jack McCullen last saw his fiancée, Suz Molloy. He was on the other side of the world involved in a grueling black ops mission for Iniquus Corporation at the behest of the US government... -
![The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin]()
The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsSome inhabitants of a peaceful kingdom cannot tolerate the act of cruelty that underlies its happiness.The story "Omelas" was first published in New Dimensions 3, a hard-cover science fiction anthology edited by Robert Silverberg, in October 1973, and the following year it won Le Guin the prestigious Hugo Award for best short story...Categorized as:
dystopia literary-fiction magical-realism 20th-century anthologies audiobook classics contemporary -
![The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty]()
The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 73 ratingsFour decades after it first terrified the world, William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist is back! An extraordinary classic work of horror and dark paranormal suspense. In this stunning 40th Anniversary Edition, a desperate mother and two priests fight to free the soul of a little girl from a supernatural entity of pure malevolence...Categorized as:
literary-fiction paranormal spirituality 20th-century adult audiobook book christian -
![The Next Person You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom]()
The Next Person You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsThe Next Person You Meet in Heaven: (B&N Exclusive Edition) The Sequel to The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch AlbomThis special edition contains an extra chapter and is available exclusively at Barnes & Noble...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism spirituality audiobook book christian classics contemporary -
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![Del tiempo y sus demonios by Diego Armando Arciniegas Malagón]()
Del tiempo y sus demonios by Diego Armando Arciniegas Malagón
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDEL TIEMPO Y SUS DEMONIOS: PERSIGUIENDO LA VERDADEsta novela se desarrolla en un pequeño y misterioso pueblo. En un territorio hermoso, inhóspito a la luz de aquellas certezas que las mayorías consideran irrefutables. Lejos del tiempo que, arbitrariamente, tomara la sabia decisión de separar el bien del mal...Categorized as:
magical-realism dystopia literary-fiction paranormal mystery fiction horror classics -
![Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach]()
Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah by Richard Bach
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsIn the cloud-washed airspace between the cornfields of Illinois and blue infinity, a man puts his faith in the propeller of his biplane. For disillusioned writer and itinerant barnstormer Richard Bach, belief is as real as a full tank of gas and sparks firing in the cylinders.. -
![The Prayer of the Night Shepherd by Phil Rickman]()
The Prayer of the Night Shepherd by Phil Rickman
Rated: 4.21 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsAt Stanner Hall, a Victorian mansion-turned-hotel, Ben Foley hosts murder-mystery weekends and strives to prove that his hotel is the house on which Arthur Conan Doyle based his immortal Baskerville Hall. As the days shorten and the weather worsens, Foley’s dabbling uncovers more than he can handle... -
![A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck, Sergei Burbank]()
A Short Stay in Hell by Steven L. Peck, Sergei Burbank
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsAn ordinary family man, geologist, and Mormon, Soren Johansson has always believed he'll be reunited with his loved ones after death in an eternal hereafter. Then, he dies. Soren wakes to find himself cast by a God he has never heard of into a Hell whose dimensions he can barely grasp: a vast library he can only escape from by finding the book that contains the story of his life...Categorized as:
dystopia magical-realism spirituality 21st-century action-adventure adult afterlife audiobook -
![A Spell of Rowans by Byrd Nash]()
A Spell of Rowans by Byrd Nash
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsRaised by a narcissistic mother, the Rowan children’s magical talents were twisted to fit her needs. When Rachel dies, her children must confront the past to have a future.Rachel Rowan could sniff out secrets and her antique shop, Rosemary Thyme, was a front to torment the residents of Grimsby. When she dies, her children are faced with the deadly fallout of blackmail, murder, and magic...Categorized as:
magical-realism paranormal literary-fiction romance fantasy mystery fiction contemporary -
![The Discovery of Heaven by Harry Mulisch]()
The Discovery of Heaven by Harry Mulisch
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsHarry Mulisch's magnum opus, is a rich mosaic of twentieth-century trauma in which many themes—friendship, loyalty, family, art, technology, religion, fate, good, and evil—suffuse a suspenseful and resplendent narrative.The Discovery of Heaven begins with the meeting of Onno and Max, two complicated individuals whom fate has mysteriously and magically brought together...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism spirituality 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook book -
![The Body at Auercliff by Amy Cross]()
The Body at Auercliff by Amy Cross
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratings"We'll bury her so deep, even her ghost will have a mouth full of dirt!" When Rebecca Wallace arrives at Auercliff to check on her aged aunt, she's in for a shock. Her aunt's mind is crumbling, and the old woman refuses to let Rebecca stay overnight. And just as she thinks she's starting to understand the truth, Rebecca makes a horrifying discovery in one of the house's many spare rooms... -
![Desire in Frost by Alicia Rades]()
Desire in Frost by Alicia Rades
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsHow do you save a child you've only seen in your nightmares?CRYSTAL FROST recently discovered she can see ghosts and predict the future, yet the mystery of Hope Ross's abduction still haunts her dreams. While traveling to Florida for Thanksgiving, Crystal's visions of Hope only grow stronger... -
![What Lies Beyond The Stars by Michael Goorjian]()
What Lies Beyond The Stars by Michael Goorjian
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratings“Something in me knows of a life I was meant to live but for whatever reason, I have not . . . ”Words that ring painfully true for Adam Sheppard, a San Francisco programmer who has spent the vast majority of his 30-something years lost in the dim glow of a computer screen...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism spirituality action-adventure adult book contemporary fiction -
![The Magus of Hay by Phil Rickman]()
The Magus of Hay by Phil Rickman
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWhen a man's body is discovered in the picturesque town of Hay-on-Wye, his death appears to be "unnatural" in every sense. Merrily Watkins, parish priest, single mother, and exorcist, is drafted in to investigate, in this 12th installment A man's body is found below a waterfall. It looks like suicide or an accidental drowning—until DI Frannie Bliss enters the dead man's home...Categorized as:
literary-fiction paranormal spirituality 21st-century adult audiobook book contemporary -
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![The Complete Cosmicomics by Italo Calvino, Jefferson Mays]()
The Complete Cosmicomics by Italo Calvino, Jefferson Mays
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsThe definitive edition of Calvino’s cosmicomics, bringing together all of these enchanting stories—including some never before translated—in one volume for the first timeIn Italo Calvino’s cosmicomics, primordial beings cavort on the nearby surface of the moon, play marbles with atoms, and bear ecstatic witness to Earth’s first dawn...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism 20th-century action-adventure adult anthologies audiobook classics -
![Sum: Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman, Multivoice]()
Sum: Tales from the Afterlives by David Eagleman, Multivoice
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsSUM shows us forty wonderfully imagined possibilities of life beyond death. In one afterlife you may find that God is the size of a microbe and is unaware of your existence. In another, your creators are a species of dim-witted creatures who built us to figure out what they could not. In a different version of the afterlife you work as a background character in other people's dreams...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism spirituality 21st-century adult afterlife anthologies audiobook -
![House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski]()
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 68 ratingsYears ago, when House of Leaves was first being passed around, it was nothing more than a badly bundled heap of paper, parts of which would occasionally surface on the Internet. No one could have anticipated the small but devoted following this terrifying story would soon command...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism paranormal 21st-century action-adventure adult book classics -
![Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi]()
Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsAn extraordinary debut novel, Freshwater explores the surreal experience of having a fractured self. It centers around a young Nigerian woman, Ada, who develops separate selves within her as a result of being born "with one foot on the other side... -
![The Midnight Library by Matt Haig]()
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 94 ratingsBetween life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices . . -
![The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin]()
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 70 ratingsMara Dyer believes life can't get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.It can.She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her strangely unharmed. There is.She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love. She's wrong... -
![Seeker by Amy Reece]()
Seeker by Amy Reece
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsAlly Moran has always just known about things—things she shouldn’t really be able to know… Suddenly when she starts having vivid visions about a former friend who is in desperate trouble, the adults in her life think she might hold the key to an ancient mystery... -
![Inspired by Frost by Alicia Rades]()
Inspired by Frost by Alicia Rades
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratings"She'll take her last breath the next time you wear that dress."CRYSTAL FROST has grown accustomed to the supernatural, but months of passive paranormal activity have left her believing her mother's wedding will be a breeze. That changes when a ghost named Melissa shows up in Crystal's dressing room while she's picking out her maid of honor dress... -
![Mystic Tea by Rea Nolan Martin]()
Mystic Tea by Rea Nolan Martin
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsA community of quirky, mismatched, and endearing women struggle to find meaning and purpose on a ramshackle monastery in upstate New York. Having spent their lives in service to a church that seems to no longer serve them, they are confused about their own futures and the future of the entire monastery...Categorized as:
literary-fiction paranormal spirituality action-adventure adult book christian contemporary -
![Man Tiger by Eka Kurniawan]()
Man Tiger by Eka Kurniawan
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsA wry, affecting tale set in a small town on the Indonesian coast, Man Tiger tells the story of two interlinked and tormented families and of Margio, a young man ordinary in all particulars except that he conceals within himself a supernatural female white tiger. The inequities and betrayals of family life coalesce around and torment this magical being...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism paranormal spirituality action-adventure adult book contemporary -
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![Teatro Grottesco by Thomas Ligotti]()
Teatro Grottesco by Thomas Ligotti
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThis collection features tormented individuals who play out their doom in various odd little towns, as well as in dark sectors frequented by sinister and often blackly comical eccentrics. The cycle of narratives that includes the title work of this collection, for instance, introduces readers to a freakish community of artists who encounter demonic perils that ultimately engulf their lives...Categorized as:
dystopia literary-fiction magical-realism 20th-century 21st-century adult anthologies contemporary -
![Vita Nostra by Marina Dyachenko, Sergey Dyachenko]()
Vita Nostra by Marina Dyachenko, Sergey Dyachenko
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsThe definitive English language translation of the internationally bestselling Ukrainian novel—a brilliant dark fantasy with "the potential to be a modern classic" (Lev Grossman), combining psychological suspense, enchantment, and terror that makes us consider human existence in a fresh and provocative way.Our life is brief . . -
![The People of Paper by Salvador Plascencia]()
The People of Paper by Salvador Plascencia
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsThe People of Paper reveals the ever-elusive prophesies of the Shandean Baby Nostradamus and the approximate temperature and incendiary potential of halos. Herein disillusioned and AWOL saints reclaim their crowns and fight purses, while a gang of flower pickers go off to war, led by a lonely man who can not help but wet his bed in sadness... -
![The Metamorphosis and Other Stories by Franz Kafka]()
The Metamorphosis and Other Stories by Franz Kafka
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 50 ratingsThe Metamorphosis and Other Stories, by Franz Kafka, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras...Categorized as:
dystopia literary-fiction magical-realism paranormal 20th-century adult anthologies audiobook -
![Ghostwritten by David Mitchell]()
Ghostwritten by David Mitchell
Rated: 4.05 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsA gallery attendant at the Hermitage. A young jazz buff in Tokyo. A crooked British lawyer in Hong Kong. A disc jockey in Manhattan. A physicist in Ireland. An elderly woman running a tea shack in rural China. A cult-controlled terrorist in Okinawa. A musician in London. A transmigrating spirit in Mongolia... -
![Full Throttle by Joe Hill]()
Full Throttle by Joe Hill
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsA little door that opens to a world of fairy tale wonders becomes the blood-drenched stomping ground for a gang of hunters in “Faun.” A grief-stricken librarian climbs behind the wheel of an antique Bookmobile to deliver fresh reads to the dead in “Late Returns...Categorized as:
dystopia magical-realism paranormal action-adventure adult anthologies audiobook contemporary -
![নিশীথিনী by Humayun Ahmed]()
নিশীথিনী by Humayun Ahmed
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsমিসির আলি সিরিজের বই। "নিশীথিনী" হচ্ছে "দেবী" এর দ্বিতীয়... -
![Dead Sexy by Amanda Ashley]()
Dead Sexy by Amanda Ashley
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe city is in a panic. In the still of the night, a vicious killer is leaving a trail of mutilated bodies drained of blood. A chilling M.O. that puts ex-vampire hunter Regan Delaney on the case, her gun clip packed with silver bullets, her instincts edgy. But the victims are both human and Undead, and the clues are as confusing as the vampire who may be her best ally—she hopes... -
![Death with Interruptions by José Saramago]()
Death with Interruptions by José Saramago
Rated: 3.98 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsNobel Prize-winner Jose Saramago's brilliant new novel poses the question what happens when the grim reaper decides there will be no more death?On the first day of the new year, no one dies. This, of course, causes consternation among politicians, religious leaders, morticians, and doctors. Among the general public, on the other hand, there is initially mass celebration... -
![Séances are for Suckers by Tamara Berry]()
Séances are for Suckers by Tamara Berry
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWhen something goes bump in the night . . . it’s most likely a plumbing problem, or something equally mundane. But fake medium Eleanor Wilde is happy to investigate and cleanse your home of spectral presences—for a fee. Hey, it’s a living . . . Ellie has an ailing sister to care for, and working as a ghost hunter who doesn’t believe in ghosts helps cover the bills for both of them... -
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![A History of Wild Places by Shea Ernshaw]()
A History of Wild Places by Shea Ernshaw
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsTravis Wren has an unusual talent for locating missing people. Hired by families as a last resort, he requires only a single object to find the person who has vanished. When he takes on the case of Maggie St. James—a well-known author of dark, macabre children’s books—he’s led to a place many believed to be only a legend...Categorized as:
dystopia literary-fiction magical-realism paranormal spirituality audiobook book contemporary -
![Everville by Clive Barker]()
Everville by Clive Barker
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 36 ratingsOn the borderland between this world and the world of Quiddity, the sea of our dreams, sits Everville. For years, it has lived in ignorance of the gleaming shore on which it lies. But its ignorance is not bliss...Categorized as:
literary-fiction paranormal spirituality 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook book -
![The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud by Ben Sherwood]()
The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud by Ben Sherwood
Rated: 4.01 of 5 stars · 50 ratingsThe Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud tells the haunting story of a young man who narrowly survives a terrible car wreck that kills his little brother. Years later, the brothers’ bond remains so strong that it transcends the normal boundaries separating life and death. Charlie St. Cloud lives in a snug New England fishing village...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism paranormal action-adventure afterlife audiobook book coming-of-age -
![Out of Sight by K.C. Wells]()
Out of Sight by K.C. Wells
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsDetective Gary Mitchell and psychic Dan Porter have a new cold case to tackle, and new leads to research in the hunt for Gary’s brother’s killer. Their life in Boston has settled into a comfortable rhythm... -
![Brother Odd by Dean Koontz]()
Brother Odd by Dean Koontz
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 54 ratingsLoop me in, odd one.The words, spoken in the deep of night by a sleeping child, chill the young man watching over her. For this was a favorite phrase of Stormy Llewellyn, his lost love, and Stormy is dead, gone forever from this world. In the haunted halls of the isolated monastery where he had sought peace, Odd Thomas is stalking spirits of an infinitely darker nature...Categorized as:
magical-realism paranormal spirituality 21st-century action-adventure audiobook book california -
![Ishmael by Daniel Quinn]()
Ishmael by Daniel Quinn
Rated: 3.99 of 5 stars · 67 ratingsWinner of the 1992 Turner Tomorrow Fellowship, "Ishmael" is a unique and captivating novel that has earned a large and passionate following among readers and critics worldwide...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism spirituality 20th-century action-adventure animals audiobook book -
![Death with Interruptions by José Saramago]()
Death with Interruptions by José Saramago
Rated: 3.98 of 5 stars · 44 ratingsNobel Prize-winner Jose Saramago's brilliant new novel poses the question what happens when the grim reaper decides there will be no more death?On the first day of the new year, no one dies. This, of course, causes consternation among politicians, religious leaders, morticians, and doctors. Among the general public, on the other hand, there is initially mass celebration...Categorized as:
dystopia literary-fiction magical-realism paranormal spirituality 20th-century 21st-century adult -
![Ghost Stories by Henry James]()
Ghost Stories by Henry James
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsWith an Introduction and Notes by Martin Scofield, University of Kent at Canterbury. Henry James was arguably the greatest practitioner of what has been called the psychological ghost story. His stories explore the region which lies between the supernatural or straightforwardly marvellous and the darker areas of the human psyche...Categorized as:
literary-fiction paranormal 20th-century adult anthologies classics contemporary dark -
![Spirits That Walk in Shadow by Nina Kiriki Hoffman]()
Spirits That Walk in Shadow by Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsRoommates Jaimie Locke and Kim Calloway are each looking to find a new life at college. It’s Jaimie’s first time Outside—away from her large, complicated family and their magical traditions—and she wants to learn what nonmagical life is like. Kim is anxious to escape the depression that’s been dragging her down since last year so she can make new friends and create the art she loves... -
![The Reincarnation of Peter Proud by Max Ehrlich]()
The Reincarnation of Peter Proud by Max Ehrlich
Rated: 3.90 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsDr. Peter Proud’s ordinary life as a professor in California is threatened by recurrent dreams that all end the same: with his murder in a lake at night by a mysterious woman named Marcia... -
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![What Dreams May Come by Richard Matheson]()
What Dreams May Come by Richard Matheson
Rated: 3.92 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe New York Times bestsellerA LOVE THAT TRANSCENDS HEAVEN AND HELLWhat happens to us after we die? Chris Nielsen had no idea, until an unexpected accident cut his life short, separating him from his beloved wife, Annie. Now Chris must discover the true nature of life after death...Categorized as:
magical-realism paranormal spirituality 20th-century action-adventure adult afterlife angels -
![The Catalain Book of Secrets by Jessica Lourey, Jess Lourey]()
The Catalain Book of Secrets by Jessica Lourey, Jess Lourey
Rated: 3.88 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFaith Falls is a snug little Minnesota town constructed over a mystery, a place where the most impressive building is a gorgeous Queen Anne with turrets, cantilevered gables, and a wraparound porch. In a concealed room beneath the twisting stairs of the Queen Anne lies the Catalain Book of Secrets, the repository of the wisdom the Catalain women have gathered since the beginning of time...Categorized as:
magical-realism paranormal spirituality adult anthologies contemporary epic female-mc -
![The Televisionary Oracle by Rob Brezsny]()
The Televisionary Oracle by Rob Brezsny
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsMillions of people already live their lives in accordance with Rob Brezsny's "Real Astrology" prophecies. But the time has come for a deeper dose of Brezsny's brain. The Televisionary Oracle is an archetypal roller-coaster that would make Rumi dizzy and leave Carl Jung gasping for breath...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism spirituality adult alpha-mc anthologies contemporary female-mc -
![Skeletal by Katherine Hayton]()
Skeletal by Katherine Hayton
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThree months before she died Daina Harrow faced a bully at school.Six weeks before she died Daina Harrow suffered an assault in the park.One week before she died Daina Harrow stole a secret people had killed to hide. That was ten years ago. Ten long years.Now, her bones have been found on a building site. A coroner's inquest has been reopened. A parade of witnesses is about to start... -
![Strange Folk by Alli Dyer]()
Strange Folk by Alli Dyer
Rated: 3.83 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA woman returns to her estranged, magical family in Appalachia but when a man is found dead in the woods nearby, it seems the family has conjured something sinister in this lush, shimmering, and wildly imaginative debut novel that is perfect for fans of Alice Hoffman, Deborah Harkness, and Sarah Addison Allen.Lee left Craw Valley at eighteen without a backward glance... -
![The Enchanted by Rene Denfeld]()
The Enchanted by Rene Denfeld
Rated: 3.95 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsThis is an enchanted place. Others don't see it, but I do.The enchanted place is an ancient stone prison, viewed through the eyes of a death row inmate who finds escape in his books and in re-imagining life around him, weaving a fantastical story of the people he observes and the world he inhabits. Fearful and reclusive, he senses what others cannot...Categorized as:
dystopia literary-fiction magical-realism paranormal 21st-century abuse adult audiobook
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