The genre of Magical Realism

There are moments where our mundane lives might start feeling ever so slightly magical. Meeting a person who understands us perfectly well, better than we understand ourselves, on a disastrous night out – the next morning, realising they never existed. Or one morning, embarking on a woodland walk, strongly believing we can hear the trees talking. The genre of magical realism takes inspiration from this very same feeling. It ties in a hint of fantasy in an otherwise unremarkable and uneventful world. Importantly, many texts in this genre tie in pertinent philosophical or political messages through the ‘magic’.

Background

It is difficult to point where this remarkable genre stemmed from, as different texts under the magical realism category have different authorial intentions. Czech author, Franz Kafka has been attributed as being the predecessor of this genre. Kafka’s The Metamorphosis, for example, features a salesman who, one morning, discovers that he has turned into a beetle-like creature. The philosophical message here is tied into Samsa’s character, who feels burdened and uncomfortable in his skin – both formerly as a human, and even now, as this insect.

However, magical realism can also veer towards the imaginative and whimsical. Attributed by Penguin as the ‘father of magical realism’, late-Cuban novelist Alejo Carpentier published The Lost Steps in 1953. This contemporary-classic novel revolves around an exhausted corporate employee, who decides to travel to South America to connect with indigenous music, and ultimately, with the natural world.

Let us now delve into some key authors and texts that have informed and fostered the realm of magical realism.

Gabriel Garcia Márquez and contemporaries – One Hundred Years of Solitude

Carpentier’s work has undoubtedly had an indelible impact in pioneering this genre. This is evident through the fantastic and beautiful works of Gabriel Garcia Márquez –another important figure in contemporary magical realism. Having written several novels in this genre, Márquez held a Nobel Prize in Literature for his influential works. Some of his most profound magical realist texts include Love in The Time of Cholera and One Hundred Years of Solitude.

Márquez most notably blended elements of Latin American culture with magical realism. His works often feature the supernatural, and the fantastical. From appointments with ghosts to cities of glass, One Hundred Years of Solitude is a deeply immersive text and can be considered required reading for those interested in this genre.

Along with Márquez, there are several other Latin American authors who have shaped the scope of magical realism. Mexican Author, Laura Esquivel’s Like Water for Chocolate includes a fantastical twist on the classic Cinderella tale. Isabel Allende in The House of the Spirits merges magic with the Chilean political landscape.

Toni Morrison – Beloved

Morrison was an indubitably important figure in African-American literature and literary criticism. While she has written books in several genres of fiction and non-fiction, her novel, Beloved, is an instrumental part of the magical realism library. Beloved is set in 1873 in Ohio, United States, and details the struggle of single-mother Sethe, her daughter Denver, and her lifelong struggles during the days of the slave trade. Having lost her first daughter at a young age, Sethe struggles with grief and depression. However, one fine day, it appears her daughter, Beloved, has been resurrected.

Beloved is a deeply moving and beautifully written text, one which won Morrison a Pulitzer Prize in literature. It grapples with slavery, depression and abuse through magical realism, and is definitely an important text to read in the genre.

Haruki Murakami – Kafka on the Shore

Japanese author Haruki Murakami is known for blending magical realism with other genres, such as science fiction and fantasy. One of his most profound works include Kafka on the Shore which details two different, yet interdependent plots. The magical realism in this text is especially compelling as it is intertwined between two plot lines. Be it reconnecting with the wild, or interactions (again) with ghosts, Murakami crafts a medley between magical realism and the metaphysical in this remarkable novel.

Salman Rushdie- Midnight’s Children

Salman Rushdie is a key figure in the post-colonial literary movement with many notable and polarising texts. Midnight’s Children is set in newly independent India, after having undergone several decades of British rule and being deeply impacted by the partition between India and Pakistan. The titular ‘midnight’s children’ are born on the midnight when India is independent, and are, as a result, gifted with supernatural powers. Midnight’s Children masterfully explores post-colonial theories with magical realism and was also awarded the Booker Prize in 1981.

To conclude, magical realism is a deeply evolving, profound and compelling genre worth exploring. Not only does it merge the lines between the real and unreal, it also, on numerous occasions, allows us to understand the political and philosophical landscape of our world. If critical thinking, compelling world-building, and captivating narratives is something that sounds exciting, pick up a book from this list, or indeed, a completely new one!