Reddit mentions of The Tartar Steppe

I can only think of one that hasn't already been mentioned:

The Tartar Steppe by Dino Buzzati.

He's more on the absurdist side (Camus, Kafka) than on the magical realism side, but it's really good and definitely underappreciated.

Also, don't forget Italo Calvino, although he's one who obviously got the credit he deserved.

Julian Gracq's gorgeous, gorgeous novel. Yes, I'm re-reading now just to study it because it's just... so... beautiful!

There are two books that I shall mention that I think would be of interest to genre readers, even though they are not nominally genre books.

SMILE AS THEY BOW is a beautiful, sad tale of an aging transvestite spirit dancer in Burma, and it's lovely and amazing and a whole different way of thinking about POV from a non-Western writer. http://www.amazon.com/Smile-as-they-Bow-Nu/dp/1401303374/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407256044&sr=8-1&keywords=smile+as+the+bow I strongly recommend it to everyone in the world.

Recommended to me by Larry Nolen, there is an amazing book translated from the Italian that I think genre readers would love. The Tartar Steppe is a beautiful allegory and warning chime to everyone in pursuit of glory: http://www.amazon.com/The-Tartar-Steppe-Dino-Buzzati/dp/1567923046/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407256202&sr=8-1&keywords=the+tartar+steppe

Also, recently, I read Gina Ochsner's latest short story collection, and it is whimsical and beautiful and heartbreaking. In the opening story, a middle-aged Eastern European couple is haunted by the ghosts of the children they didn't have. Later on, people place their broken hearts on trebuchets and cast them into a field. http://www.amazon.com/People-I-Wanted-Be-Stories/dp/0618563725/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407256400&sr=8-1&keywords=gina+ochsner+people

Lately, one of my favorite recent reads came out from Small Beer Press, and explores the fascinating figure of Jonathan Edwards. Spider in a Tree by Susan Stinson is an amazing, and beautiful book, exploring the life and times of a fascinating figure from American History. http://smallbeerpress.com/books/2013/10/01/spider-in-a-tree/

I'll recommend one book that isn't out, yet, but I want everyone of you to go and get it. Jenn Brissett's debut novel, Elysium, is coming from Aquaduct, and it's a complex and amazing story about what remains of us. It's powerful and complex and full of amazing imagery. I know I intend to write a full review when the time comes for such things. http://www.aqueductpress.com/forthcoming-pubs.php

Then I suggest everything else by Kafka and nothing else by Bulgakov. Also this and Russian classics as a general rule.

The Tartar Steppe by Dino Buzzati

My absolute favorite book. Albeit slow in parts but I really do believe every high school graduate should receive this book. An unknown gem that has some of the best lessons in life implanted inside it's soul.