Magical Realism

“My most important problem was destroying
the lines of demarcation that separates what
seems real from what seems fantastic”
- Gabriel Garcia Marquez

I am deeply interested and intrigued by magical realism in literature, film, and art. If I could find a way to incorporate magical realism into music, I would explore that world too. (Enter John Cage and Charles Ives, perhaps). I will be posting thoughts and reviews of works from the magical realism genre through this new page on GreyCatBlog. Send me your thoughts, questions, and discussions about magical realism and how to “push the envelope” further.

Defined….

[Magical Realism is] A narrative technique that blurs the distinction between fantasy and reality. It is characterized by an equal acceptance of the ordinary and the extraordinary. Magic realism fuses (1) lyrical and, at times, fantastic writing with (2) an examination of the character of human existence and (3) an implicit criticism of society, particularly the elite. (Direct quote from N. Lindstrom, 1994, text posted online)

What is magical realism?

In magical realism, we find the transformation of the common and the everyday into the awesome and the unreal. It is predominantly an art of surprises.  ~Alberto Rios

A Sampling of Magical Realism Authors

  • Gabriel Garcia Marquez
  • Ben Okri
  • Isabel Allende
  • Syl Cheney-Coker
  • Kojo Laing
  • Allejo Carpentier
  • Toni Morrison
  • Kwsme Anthony Appiah
  • Mario Vargas Llosa

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