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| by Audrey Niffenegger |
I just recently learned the term magical realism. I didn't get a full picture of what this particular genre meant until I researched novels written specifically for that category. I was amazed at how many, of the books or movies listed, fell under my list of favorites. Examples of magical realism that most would recognize are; Practical Magic, Beloved, The Butcher's Wife, The Others, The Time Traveler's Wife and The House of Spirits, to name a few. While some may perceive these to be fantasy, they are not. Magical realism is the blurred line between fantasy and reality.
Magical realism uses normal or real situations with a flare of mysticism, or magic, towards a particular person or characters. Often it goes along as a subplot to the main story. In Beloved, the main story involves Sethe's life after she escapes slavery and the inner turmoil she suffers over the death of her child, Beloved. At the same time, the reader sees another story unfold with the stranger that Sethe takes into her home. This stranger is where the essence of the magical realism enters the story.
In Pushing Daises, an ABC television series, Ned the Pie-man has the extraordinary power of bringing the dead back to life. This gift is only shared with a select few. However, Ned's ability to restore people and things to their living state, is what makes his pies the best in town. Ned uses old, discarded fruit and returns them to their most ripest state.
If you are interested in this genre of writing, below are several publications that deal exclusively with magical realism.
