Favorite Magical Realism Novels
Magical realism is when magical elements or illogical scenarios appear in an otherwise realistic or even "normal" setting. The types of books that use the most of this theme are fantasy, supernatural,and literary books.
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favorite, fiction, and magical-realism
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I disagree with Anne Rice being on the list. She's not magical realism because there is no realism in her novels. I'm not putting her down; I like the Mayfair Witch series alot, I'm just saying, techinically, I disagree that she uses magical realism.
Also, Matt, I hope you're kidding....
The new novel by Joshua Mohr is not exactly magical realism but something similar. The narrator has post traumatic stress disorder and imagines himself going through a trapdoor in the bottom of a dumpster to visit his past. He also meets his inner-child.
I added Midlesex.. and prepared to be challenged as im no expert. To me this was magic realism - narrated as the story of a gene through generations by someone who couldnt possibly have known the details, also exemplified by narrating the story from within the womb
Alice Hoffman and Isabel Allende are my favorite magic realists and I'm glad they are on this list. The way I feel about magic realism, is that its just a hint or a small touch of magic or something mystical in a realistic setting. Its not overwhelming the story. So I agree that Anne Rice isn't magic realism, because its about the supernatural. The same for Elsewhere: great teen novel, but its about the afterlife. Although my favorite of Alice Hoffman's that's not on this list is Illumination Night.I'm not too sure if I agree with Middlesex being on this list. I understand what you're trying to say, but to me it was more of a complicated coming of age story. Great novel, but not magic realism (but that's just my opinion). I'm also a little on the fence about The Time Traveler's Wife, but I voted for that one.
Too difficult to choose one, I love Alice Hoffman's gift of story but I also love Gabriel García Márquez for his lush narrative. When reviewing the list I noticed 3 books that I have but haven't read yet. There just aren't enough hours for reading...I can't decide.
I wish the witch of Portobello was mentioned. A live display and rendering of its protagonist - was much more entertaining and enlightening than reading something in print and voting for it. Then I would vote for Haroon & the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie. However, I have not read most names mentioned here and so The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho bcomes choice!
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle A NovelI am not sure if this qualifies but it was certainly a magical book to me...and an amazingly well-written story.
Kathleen
Jon wrote: "I added Midlesex.. and prepared to be challenged as im no expert. To me this was magic realism - narrated as the story of a gene through generations by someone who couldnt possibly have known the ..."I don't think that's magical realism.... it's a storytelling term but in general, its the story of a real life girl that nothing magical happens to. to me, not so much magical realism...
To me, the magic in magical realism isn't so much literal as it is linguistic (or artistic). I define it as the expression of the metaphorical as literal. It's not about supernatural and fantasy as much as those elements naturally come into play when you play with language (or whatever your art form) so that the beauty of expression becomes real and you see magic in the world.
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