Mythology Book Recommendations

By Samara Patel

I have always loved books based around mythology: the bright and expansive worlds, the times and places so far away from my own and the ability to tell a familiar story in a new light. These books immerse me in different cultures in beautiful and magical ways, entwining history and legend to create a picture of a society’s collective dreams. With their courageous protagonists, artful and unpredictable twists, and a healthy number of dragons, these books will whisk you off to a world far beyond internships, summatives, and flat dramas. Here’s a list of some of my favourite mythology-based books of all time, and how they’ve interpreted age-old stories into stunning prose.

Persian Mythology: This Woven Kingdom series by Tahereh Mafi

There are few series that I hate more than this one. I’ve never been one for slow-burn plots, but this series manages to be incredibly addicting. Its maddening pacing will have you reading far too late into the night while waiting desperately for the impossible to happen. The main character Alizeh is the lost Jinn queen, hiding in plain sight as a servant while hoping that the crown prince, the arrogant Kamran, doesn’t look too closely into her past. This whirlwind of a book will take you through Persian myths from A Thousand and One Arabian Nights, breathtaking romances, and lush worlds as Alizeh goes on a quest to achieve her destiny — with or without Kamran’s help.

These books immerse me in different cultures in beautiful and magical ways, entwining history and legend to create a picture of a society’s collective dreams

This series is well described by one of my favourite (and most infuriating) characters, “it’s meant to be a kind of living painting; an experience with beauty meant to invigorate the tired senses.” This Woven Kingdom is filled with beauty: lands filled with fragrant flowers, elegant magics that both build and destroy, and the realness of the Persian region and culture that permeates the whole setting.

Chinese Mythology: A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang

Inspired by the Four Beauties of Ancient China, Liang uses her powers of immersive writing and nuanced characterization to bring this story to life. As someone who has read all of her books, I can confidently say that Liang is a writer who knows who her characters are, down to the food they snack on and the trauma their mothers gave them. She is an expert at crafting protagonists that not only feel real but are real: I can feel the echo of their far-fetched stories in my own mundane life.

Xishi is a beautiful girl who has been scouted to use her gifts to infiltrate the complex and brutal Wu court. As she gets closer to the King, she grows farther away from the desperate girl she was in her small rural village. Become transfixed by this book as she schemes, spies, and strongarms the court to her will, sometimes at the cost of her own soul.

Incan Mythology: Written in Starlight by Isabel Ibañez

Ibañez is an author that I’m completely devoted to. She likes to start her books off with an immediate crisis, while the rest of the book becomes a frantic scramble to resolve the initial crisis while even more problems pop up throughout. It feels very similar to writing my dissertation, but with a lot less mouth-watering Bolivian and Peruvian food along the way. Written in Starlight follows a Condesa without a country. Catalina has been banished to the Yanu Jungle after her kingdom was ripped away from her, and now she has to figure out a plan to both get her life back and survive the merciless creatures crawling the wilderness around her. Reunited with her old guard, Manuel, she goes on a quest to find the lost city of Paititi and reclaim her crown.

With their courageous protagonists, artful and unpredictable twists, and a healthy number of dragons, these books will whisk you off to a world far beyond internships, summatives, and flat dramas

The Yanu jungle is based off of the Amazon, while Paiti is a legendary Incan city rumoured to be hidden amongst its vines and trees. With Ibañez’s signature touch of magic, this book will make you very glad for even Durham’s rough windy days — at least you’re not stranded deep in the jungle.

Check out these books at either Durham’s Clayport Library or the Billy B, and explore the magic of worlds beyond!

Image Credit: Metropolitan Museum of Art via Wikimedia Commons