Books like 'Peake's Progress'
Readers who enjoyed Peake's Progress by Mervyn Peake also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical fantasy 20th century drama magical-realism humor literary-fiction low-fantasy
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Wyrd Sisters: The Play by Stephen Briggs, Terry Pratchett
Rated: 4.37 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsTerry Pratchett takes Shakespeare's Macbeth and then turns it up 'till the knob comes off. It's all there - a wicked duke and duchess, the ghost of the murdered king, dim soldiers, strolling players, a land in peril. And who stands between the Kingdom and destruction? Three witches... -
The Complete Stories and Poems by Lewis Carroll
Rated: 4.35 of 5 stars · 38 ratingsThis commemorative oversized volume of the complete collection of stories and poems of Lewis Carol showcases his ingenious use of word play, inverted logic and satire. Lewis Carroll was the pen name and, it could be claimed, the alter ego of the Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, a mathematician, writer and photographer...Categorized as:
humor literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure anthologies children children-books classics -
The Magic Faraway Tree by Enid Blyton
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 28 ratingsJo, Bessie and Fanny take their cousin Rick on an adventure he'll never forget to the magic Faraway Tree, where he meets Moon-Face, Silky the fairy and Saucepan Man, and visits all the different lands at the top of the Faraway Tree...Categorized as:
literary-fiction low-fantasy magical-realism 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book children -
The Aleph by Jorge Luis Borges
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsTranslation to English of the Spanish short story "El Aleph", originally published in 1945...Categorized as:
magical-realism literary-fiction low-fantasy fiction classics fantasy 20th-century university -
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The Book of Fantasy by Jorge Luis Borges, Silvina Ocampo
Rated: 4.36 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe Book of Fantasy began one night when three friends fell to talking about fantasies and ghost stories...Categorized as:
literary-fiction low-fantasy magical-realism 20th-century adult anthologies classics fiction -
The Garden of Forking Paths by Jorge Luis Borges, George Guidall
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratings"The Garden of Forking Paths" (original Spanish title: "El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan") is the title story in the collection El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan (1941), which was republished in its entirety in Ficciones (Fictions) in 1944...Categorized as:
magical-realism literary-fiction low-fantasy fiction classics philosophy fantasy 20th-century -
4: Fantastic Novels by Daniel Pinkwater, Scott Simon
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFour-fantastic-books-in-one by the popular author of The Hoboken Chicken Emergency: Borgel Yobgorgle The Worms of Kukumlima The Snarkout Boys & the Baconburg...Categorized as:
humor low-fantasy magical-realism 20th-century action-adventure anthologies children children-books -
Black Water: The Book of Fantastic Literature by Alberto Manguel, Julio Cortázar
Rated: 4.38 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThis huge anthology offers a kaleidoscope of brilliant writing from the Magi of the imagination. Alberto Manguel has selected 72 fantastic tales from life on the edge of the twilight zone, with stories from Marguerite Yourcenar, Herman Hesse, Italo Calvino, Vladimir Nabokov, and many, many more...Categorized as:
literary-fiction low-fantasy magical-realism 20th-century absurdism adult anthologies audiobook -
The Philosopher's War by Tom Miller
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratingsThe second book in the thrilling series that began with The Philosopher’s Flight finds Robert Canderelli Weekes as a rookie Rescue and Evacuation flier on the front lines of World War I in France. He came to save lives, but has no idea how far he’ll have to go to win the war... -
Manalive by G.K. Chesterton
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsPerhaps the most light-hearted of all Chesterton's "serious" works, Manalive pits a group of disillusioned young people against Mr. Innocent Smith, a bubbly, high-spirited gentleman who literally falls into their midst. Later accused of murder and denounced for philandering everywhere he goes, Smith prompts his newfound acquaintances to recognize an important idea in most unexpected ways... -
A Single Swallow by Zhang Ling
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsThe eagerly awaited English translation of award-winning author Zhang Ling’s epic and intimate novel about the devastation of war, forgiveness, redemption, and the enduring power of love.On the day of the historic 1945 Jewel Voice Broadcast—in which Emperor Hirohito announced Japan’s surrender to the Allied forces, bringing an end to World War II—three men, flush with jubilation, made a pact...Categorized as:
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Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Magic by Betty MacDonald
Rated: 4.12 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsMrs. Piggle-Wiggle has a trick up her sleeve.Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle loves everyone, and everyone loves her right back. The children love her because she is lots of fun. Their parents love her because she can cure children of absolutely any bad habit...Categorized as:
humor low-fantasy magical-realism 20th-century audiobook book children children-books -
The Forgotten Witch by Jessica Dodge
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsHelen Kent never dares to step outside her comfort zone. She lives a lonely mundane life in the city, grinding through her uninspiring marketing job. That is, until a spontaneous online purchase brings her to the little bay town of Oban, Scotland, where a 500-year-old cottage full of secrets and stories awaits her...Categorized as:
magical-realism low-fantasy fantasy fiction witches-wizards urban-fantasy dark-fantasy horror -
Amy's Eyes by Richard Kennedy, Richard Egielski
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA girl who has changed into a doll and a doll who has changed into a sea captain sail the pirate-ridden high seas with a crew of Mother Goose animals, in search of gold treasure...Categorized as:
low-fantasy magical-realism 20th-century book children children-books disability fiction -
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The Little King December by Axel Hacke
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDecember II, the little pot-bellied king, is about three inches tall and so fat that he can't button up his tiny red velvet coat. He lives in a tiny room in a hole in the wall, its shelves piled high with countless colourful boxes, full of his dreams. And when you're with him you see things your eyes won't normally see... -
A Confederate General from Big Sur / Dreaming of Babylon / The Hawkline Monster by Richard Brautigan
Rated: 4.24 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsRichard Brautigan was the author of ten novels, including a contemporary classic, Trout Fishing in America, nine volumes of poetry, and a collection of stories.Here are three Brautigan novels--A Confederate General from Big Sur, Dreaming of Babylon and The Hawkline Monster--reissues in a one-volume omnibus edition... -
The Circular Ruins by Jorge Luis Borges
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 12 ratings"The Circular Ruins"/"Las ruinas circulares") first published in the literary journal Sur in December 1940, it was included in the 1941 collection The Garden of Forking Paths (Spanish: El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan) and the 1944 collection Ficciones. It was first published in English in View (Series V, No. 6 1946), translated by Paul Bowles...Categorized as:
magical-realism low-fantasy fiction fantasy classics philosophy 20th-century university -
Mary Poppins Opens the Door by P.L. Travers
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsFrom the moment Mary Poppins arrives at Number Seventeen Cherry-Tree Lane, everyday life at the Banks house is forever changed. This classic series tells the story of the world's most beloved nanny, who brings enchantment and excitement with her everywhere she goes. Featuring the charming original cover art by Mary Shepard, these new editions are sure to delight readers of all ages...Categorized as:
humor low-fantasy magical-realism 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book children -
Dictionary of the Khazars by Milorad Pavić
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsA national bestseller, Dictionary of the Khazars was cited by The New York Times Book Review as one of the best books of the year...Categorized as:
literary-fiction low-fantasy magical-realism 20th-century action-adventure adult book classics -
Dreamtigers by Jorge Luis Borges
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsDreamtigers has been heralded as one of the literary masterpieces of the twentieth century by Mortimer J. Adler, editor of Great Books of the Western World. It has been acknowledged by its author as his most personal work. Composed of poems, parables, and stories, sketches and apocryphal quotations, Dreamtigers at first glance appears to be a sampleralbeit a dazzling oneof the master's work...Categorized as:
literary-fiction low-fantasy magical-realism 20th-century adult anthologies classics fiction -
The Time Garden by Edward Eager
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 29 ratings"Anything can happen when you have all the time in the world" says the frog-like Natterjack in old relative Mrs Whiton's thyme garden. Cousins Roger, Ann, Eliza and girl-crazy Jack ride for American rebels, bow to Queen Elizabeth I, and even rescue their own parents when they were children...Categorized as:
humor low-fantasy magical-realism 20th-century action-adventure book children children-books -
No. 23 Burlington Square by Jenni Keer
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsLondon, 1927: One house. Three lives. A decision that will change everything. A powerful, unique timeslip story, perfect for fans of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, The Miniaturist, and Lucinda Riley...Categorized as:
drama magical-realism literary-fiction romance historical-fiction fiction historical audiobook -
La Maravilla by Alfredo Véa
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratings"Buckeye Road wasn't much of a town, just a place where a pocked and pitted road met an invisible street....It was less that unincorporated, it was unknown..."Yet it is here in the desert outside the Phoenix city limits that Alfredo Vea, Jr., finds a world of marvels spilling out of the adobe homes, tar-paper shacks, rusted Cadillacs, and battered trailers that are otherwise known as "Buckeye...Categorized as:
humor literary-fiction magical-realism 20th-century adult book coming-of-age fiction -
The White Deer by James Thurber
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsHere is a Thurber world of enchanted deer and seven-headed dragons, of wizards and witches, of riddles and spells, of false love and true. It is the story of a beautiful princess, transformed from a deer, who assigns each of three princes a perilous labor to perform in order to win her hand. Drawings by the Author... -
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Fancies and Goodnights by John Collier, Ray Bradbury
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsJohn Collier's edgy, sardonic tales are works of rare wit, curious insight, and scary implication. They stand out as one of the pinnacles in the critically neglected but perennially popular tradition of weird writing that includes E.T.A. Hoffmann and Charles Dickens as well as more recent masters like Jorge Luis Borges and Roald Dahl...Categorized as:
humor literary-fiction low-fantasy magical-realism 20th-century adult anthologies classics -
The Greatest Gift by Philip Van Doren Stern
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsWhen he found himself unable to find a publisher for his story, author Philip Van Doren Stern printed up copies of the “The Greatest Gift” and gave them out as Christmas cards in 1943. Eventually, the story came to the attention of director Frank Capra, who explained later, “It was the story I had been looking for all my life! A good man, ambitious...Categorized as:
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The Complete Stories of Leonora Carrington by Leonora Carrington
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsSurrealist writer and painter Leonora Carrington (1917-2011) was a master of the macabre, of gorgeous tableaus, biting satire, roguish comedy, and brilliant, effortless flights of the imagination. Nowhere are these qualities more ingeniously brought together than in the works of short fiction she wrote throughout her life...Categorized as:
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The Garden of Time by J.G. Ballard
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratings...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism low-fantasy classics fantasy fiction dystopia historical-fiction -
Tistou of the Green Thumbs; 0 by Maurice 1918-2009 Druon
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 16 ratings"The gardener thinks a 'green thumb' is a great and wonderful gift, but to little Tistou it is just one more reason for people to say he is unlike other people. Unusual things happen in this story of a boy whose secret is skillfully kept until the last pages... -
Mary Poppins in the Park by P.L. Travers
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsBy P.L. Travers, the author featured in the major motion picture, Saving Mr. Banks. From the moment Mary Poppins arrives at Number Seventeen Cherry-Tree Lane, everyday life at the Banks house is forever changed. This classic series tells the story of the world's most beloved nanny, who brings enchantment and excitement with her everywhere she goes...Categorized as:
humor literary-fiction low-fantasy magical-realism 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book -
Señor Vivo and the Coca Lord by Louis de Bernières
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsIn this iridescent gem of a novel, Louis de Bernieres returns to the territory he mapped so well in The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts, a South American country of resplendent eccentricity, gargantuan corruption, and terrifying violence, where the ordinary machinery of government has rusted and the only thing that works is magic...Categorized as:
humor literary-fiction magical-realism 20th-century action-adventure adult book crime -
Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsCharles Carter—a.k.a. Carter the Great—is a young master performer whose skill as an illusionist exceeds even that of the great Houdini. But nothing in his career has prepared Carter for the greatest stunt of all, which stars none other than President Warren G. Harding and which could end up costing Carter the reputation he has worked so hard to create... -
The Street of Crocodiles by Bruno Schulz, Mikolaj Dutsch
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsThe Street of Crocodiles in the Polish city of Drogobych is a street of memories and dreams where recollections of Bruno Schulz's uncommon boyhood and of the eerie side of his merchant family's life are evoked in a startling blend of the real and the fantastic... -
The Borrowers by Mary Norton
Rated: 4.03 of 5 stars · 65 ratingsBeneath the kitchen floor is the world of the Borrowers -- Pod and Homily Clock and their daughter, Arrietty. In their tiny home, matchboxes double as roomy dressers and postage stamps hang on the walls like paintings. Whatever the Clocks need they simply "borrow" from the "human beans" who live above them. It's a comfortable life, but boring if you're a kid...Categorized as:
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Mirror in the Mirror by Michael Ende
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 23 ratingsMirror in the Mirror: A Labyrinth is a collection of surreal short stories by Michael Ende originally published in 1984. All stories in the book have their own protagonists, but are related to each other by the use of literary leitmotivs. None of the stories has its own title... -
The Book of Imaginary Beings by Jorge Luis Borges, Margarita Guerrero
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsIn a perfect pairing of talent, this volume blends twenty illustrations by Peter S.' with Jorge Luis Borges' 1957 compilation of 116 "strange creatures conceived through time and space by the human imagination," from dragons and centaurs to Lewis Carroll's Cheshire Cat and the Morlocks of H. G. Wells' The Time Machine...Categorized as:
humor literary-fiction low-fantasy magical-realism 20th-century adult animals anthologies -
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming, John Burningham
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsWhen an inventor brings home an old racing car and rebuilds it, the family gets more than they counted on--because the car has some hidden talents of her own. The family's jaunt to France gets the children kidnapped and involved in a counterfeiting plot..Categorized as:
humor literary-fiction low-fantasy magical-realism 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book -
Life and Death are Wearing Me Out by Mo Yan
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsXimen Nao, a landowner known for his generosity and kindness to his peasants, is not only stripped of his land and worldly possessions in Mao's Land Reform Movement of 1948, but is cruelly executed, despite his protestations of innocence. He goes to Hell, where Lord Yama, king of the underworld, has Ximen Nao tortured endlessly, trying to make him admit his guilt, to no avail...Categorized as:
humor literary-fiction magical-realism 20th-century 21st-century action-adventure adult animals -
Damascus Nights by Rafik Schami
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsRafik Schami's award-winning novel. In the classical Arab tradition of tale-telling, here is a magical book that celebrates the power of storytelling, delightfully transformed for modern sensibilities by an award-winning author. The time is present-day Damascus, and Salim the coachman, the city's most famous storyteller, is mysteriously struck dumb...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism 20th-century action-adventure adult book classics fiction -
Sessanta racconti by Dino Buzzati
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsIl mondo di Dino Buzzati è un mondo magico, misterioso, molto attraente per il lettore che, incuriosito, giunge al termine della lettura con il fiato sospeso, nell’attesa di conoscere quell’unica verità che capovolge tutto ciò che fino a quel momento sembrava essere vero... -
The Baron in the Trees by Italo Calvino
Rated: 4.02 of 5 stars · 44 ratingsA landmark new translation of a Calvino classic, a whimsical, spirited novel that imagines a life lived entirely on its own terms Cosimo di Rondó, a young Italian nobleman of the eighteenth century, rebels against his parents by climbing into the trees and remaining there for the rest of his life...Categorized as:
humor literary-fiction magical-realism 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book children -
The Song of the Blue Bottle Tree by India Hayford
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsDisguised by years in exile and a name she found on a gravestone, an unconventional young woman returns to her childhood home in rural 1967 Arkansas in this hauntingly visceral Southern tale of desperate choices, found family, folk magic and noisy ghosts. Genevieve Charbonneau talks to ghosts and has a special relationship with rattlesnakes...Categorized as:
magical-realism literary-fiction historical-fiction fiction fantasy historical audiobook paranormal -
Love of Seven Dolls by Paul Gallico
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsA young girl called Mouche is about to throw herself into the Seine, when her attention is attracted by a voice. It turns out to be the voice of a glove puppet, called Carrot Top. She then meets Reynard the fox, Gigi, Alifanfaron, Dr Duclos, Madame Muscat and Monsieur Nicholas... -
Once and Forever: The Tales of Kenji Miyazawa by Kenji Miyazawa
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe magic of Miyazawa's tales reaches out to people of all ages and lands. The sophisticated reader can savor them consciously as literature, while the younger reader can delight in them as imaginative stories that comment on and deepen his own experience. The underlying themes are universal, but the forms and treatment can be appreciated at many levels and vary subtly from piece to piece...Categorized as:
literary-fiction low-fantasy magical-realism 20th-century adult animals anthologies classics -
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The Book Cat by Polly Faber
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThis is a classic wartime tale of a (real!) cat who made his home at the Faber offices and decided he'd never leave.'This time we need to get you - get all of the kittens, safe out of London,' said Morgan decisively....'To have a chance for a better life, well, let's just say, I've got an idea... -
Pilgermann by Russell Hoban
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsHe climbs a ladder to reach another man's wife and gives himself up to her beauty, but then Pilgermann descends into a mob of peasants inspired by the Pope to shed the blood of Jews. Alone on the cobblestones, he cries out to Israel, to the Lord his God, to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. He is answered instead by Jesus Christ...Categorized as:
literary-fiction magical-realism 20th-century adult book fiction historical historical-fiction -
Jasmine Nights by S.P. Somtow
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSet in 1963, this kaleidoscopic boy's-eye-view of a turbulent time in history is a story about the American civil rights movement, the Kennedy assassination, growing up in the '60s, the Thai aristocracy--and a 12-year-old boy's search for his place in a modern world. His adventure is a joyous testament to the resiliency and implicit goodness of the human spirit...Categorized as:
low-fantasy magical-realism 20th-century action-adventure book coming-of-age fiction historical -
The Cursed by Dave Duncan
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsWar had killed Gwin's husband, and a plague of star sickness carried off her babies. Desolate, she nursed her stricken neighbors. But the few who would survive the sickness were doomed anyway. Every survivor would be cursed, and each would become outcast, for the curses were more deadly than the plague itself... -
Mandelbrot the Magnificent by Liz Ziemska
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsLiz Ziemska has fashioned a beautiful story about one famous survivor and the magic and mathematics he's brought to the world...Categorized as:
low-fantasy magical-realism 20th-century adult alternate-history book female-author fiction -
The Story of Doctor Dolittle by Hugh Lofting, Peter Glassman
Rated: 3.97 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsDoctor John Dolittle loves animals. He loves them so much that his home and office overflow with animals of every description. When Polynesia the parrot teaches him the language of the animals, Doctor Dolittle becomes a world-famous doctor, traveling even as far away as Africa to help his friends...
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