Seeking Book (or Movie/Series) Recs - Slow-Paced, Dreamy Fantasy/Fairytale

[labingi]

I feel the need for some "escapist" literature (or video), and right now I want to escape into something dreamy and otherworldly. I would love recommendations.

An example of the type of thing would be Angel's Egg, the 1980s short anime. On the fast-paced, action, heartwarming end, maybe the recent movie, Flow. At the intellectual/concrete extreme, maybe A Voyage to Arcturus.

Seeking stories with...

* nature/beauty
* a dreamy or surreal quality - like it may be a dream or metaphor or afterlife or enchantment or something.
* on the slow, quiet end.
* vaguely old-timey in setting, like anywhere from 150-7000 years ago or the rough equivalent in an otherworld.
* some story/plot, though it can be slight, long enough that I get to spend time with the characters: novella or long; hour-ish video or longer.

Don't want...

* anything YA
* anything obviously moralizing;
* any "strong feminist heroine" or anything that smacks of contemporary politics of any kind from any side of the aisle;
* anything fast-paced or action packed. (I'm fine with Flow at the extreme end of fast.)
* anything that "feels" like it was written in and for the 2020s or 2010s;
* anything really short.

Fine with or Fine with Caveats...

* melancholy, dark, horror-tinged if not super dark/depressing/horror
* relatively thin characters, as long as what's there isn't any of the "don't want."
* romance if it's subtle, not the main point, not stereotypical. (Romance will be an easier sell if it's m/m.)
* child, teen characters as long as the story itself doesn't feel aimed at modern kids/teens (see Angel's Egg).
* written/created in pretty much any time period from ancient to present, if it more or less fits the above.

Thanks in advance for rec's!

Comments

Re: Beaufort scales

[bookwyrme]

I rambled about a lot of books; I think the only one I ended up recommending was All Systems Red, which I think you will enjoy at some point but which is not what you are asking for now. Despite the fact that Murderbot is, itself, very un-murdery, there is quite a lot of violence in the series as a whole. Also, the book is short.

I'm only about 50% sure you'll like the Beaufort Scales books. I cannot remember us discussing anything like them in our bookish rambles.

Things I think you'll appreciate:

• The love of place and the beautiful descriptions of the land
• The emphasis on friendship
• The way the women all have very different personalities.
• All the characters are adult human beings who act like it
• The deep love of every day life.

You might like:

• The tea-drinking dragons
• The hints of dragon culture (only hints; this isn't deep world-building)
• The relatively low stakes--it's a murdered vicar, not a universe in peril.

Things I'm not sure about:

• The mystery genre. I am not sure you read it at all.
• The silliness. Yes, this is a very skillfully written cozy mystery, but it is a cozy mystery with puns and scones and dragons who drink tea.

Anyway, it would be interesting to see what you think of it!

Re: Beaufort scales

[labingi]

It does sound cool and different. :-) A lot of people have been recommending Murderbot to me. I should check it out.