Magical Realism

Posession, perhaps? Great book.

Magical realism is very in at the moment, with an established market. Look at writers such as Zafon, Allende, Angela Carter, Robertson Davies.

Another very successful author who writes magical realism is Haruki Murakami.

C.bronco said:

A while ago, I wrote a short story that did't fit into any of the markets I could think of, but, after a friend passed me a book, realized it was magical realism. I was aiming toward horror and literary markets. Is there a market for magical realism?

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Nearly all the authors I can think of whose work has been tagged with the term "magical realism" are sold in the "standard" literature (e.g., "literary") section of bookstores. It wouldn't be too hard to place some of the fiction of Joseph Conrad and William Faulkner in that category, as loose as it is. Another author, too little read methinks, who seems to fit in the MR cloak is Nigerian writer Amos Tutuola. Also Japanese novelist Kobo Abe.

caw

Cat_with_a_hat said:

Another very successful author who writes magical realism is Haruki Murakami.

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Haruki Murakami is one of my favorite authors. I discovered his Wind-Up Bird Chronicles in 2014 and have been hooked ever since.

C.bronco said:

A while ago, I wrote a short story that did't fit into any of the markets I could think of, but, after a friend passed me a book, realized it was magical realism. I was aiming toward horror and literary markets. Is there a market for magical realism?

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Here are a few that have featured what I would consider "magic realism":

--Lakeside Circus
--The Dark Magazine
--Strange Horizons
--Shimmer Magazine
--F&SF Magazine (This one, not so much, but one noteworthy example of an F&SF story that I consider to be magic realism is The Paper Menagerie by Ken Liu.)

I'm sure there are many other magazines that accept magic realism. It seems to be trendy in the literary world at the moment.

I've never been quite sure what magical realism is, to be honest. It's always felt to me like people are too terrified to label their work fantasy, so they come up with a respectable euphemism.

SillyLittleTwit said:

I've never been quite sure what magical realism is, to be honest. It's always felt to me like people are too terrified to label their work fantasy, so they come up with a respectable euphemism.

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I love magical realism when done right, but it's hard to tow the line to keep it from going into outright fantasy and if it does slip into too fantastic then it's just fantasy (as much as I love Sarah Addison Allen, her books are still too fantastic to me, yet they're considered magical realism). Magical Realism I always found were stories where, there's this touch of hyper reality to it, things are almost surreal without being confusing. There are fantastic (or semi fantastic) things happening in a story where the rules are real world rules (IE all laws of physics still apply) yet they cannot be completely explained. They're close to being fantastic but nothing is as straight forward or happen in a way that cannot be sort of guessed or explained.

I will say though the genre seems to be on the rise. I've certainly seen more and more in the genre pop up. Though again some tow the line as being too fantasitc but not fantastic enough to be called straight up fantasy. For a movie example, I guess "The Legend Bagger Vance" is considered magical realism or "Big Fish". I see it more in movies then I do books.

SillyLittleTwit said:

I've never been quite sure what magical realism is, to be honest. It's always felt to me like people are too terrified to label their work fantasy, so they come up with a respectable euphemism.

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I have no problem with labeling my work sci-fi or fantasy when the label fits (and sometimes it does) but I also write magic realism. They're all just subgenera of speculative fiction.

For me, in fantasy, the fantastical elements give rise to the story, while in magic realism, the story gives rise to the fantastical elements.

A lot of my ideas lately actually fall into what I'm calling "technomagic realism", which is the same basic idea but with sci-fi elements instead of fantastical elements.

SillyLittleTwit said:

I've never been quite sure what magical realism is, to be honest.

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Me, either, really. I think the term first got applied to the slightly dreamy prose of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and some of his South American colleagues. But it's a little like art: you know it when you see it. I've been reading some of George MacDonald's work, and it strikes me that much of it would qualify for the label. MacDonald was one of the great founders of modern Fantasy fiction.

Another writer I greatly admire, who, to me, fits in the "magic realism" category, is the Nigerian writer of fables, Amos Tutuola. He based his wonderful tales on folklore from his native village, but infused it with a sensibility and astuteness that gives it an extraordinarily hypnotic quality.

cawe

I often feel the same way. I've always considered myself a dark fantasy writer, but I recently had a beta tell me my writing "skews literary" and therefore is closer to magical realism. Still not sure I'd actually describe my work that way.

I like to write flash stories set in our real world but with just one magical element brought in. That's the focus of the story and highlights a real human condition (usually some type of misery).

Marumae said:

I love magical realism when done right

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Agreed. Salman Rushdie can do it quite well also. IMO, Murakami is not that great at it - it's seems like it's always a case of too much of this or not enough of that. Plus his weird fixation on oral sex makes me scratch my microcephalic head in confusion.

Heat Miser said:

Agreed. Salman Rushdie can do it quite well also. IMO, Murakami is not that great at it - it's seems like it's always a case of too much of this or not enough of that. Plus his weird fixation on oral sex makes me scratch my microcephalic head in confusion.

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Personally, I much prefer Murakami.

I've been meaning to check out some Murakami for a while. Anyone know a good place to start?

S_Alvette said:

I've been meaning to check out some Murakami for a while. Anyone know a good place to start?

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I'm not sure it matters much. For what it's worth, I started with The Wind-up Bird Chronicles and found that a good place to start. A less ambitious start might be A Wild Sheep Chase, or if you like short stories The Elephant Vanishes.

Perhaps, save 1Q84 for later. But even that's just a perhaps.

On balance, I'd probably suggest A Wild Sheep Chase, but I feel like it's not vital to start with any one book. Just pick the one whose summary strikes your fancy.

I'll try The Elephant Vanishes first to see if I like the taste.

Thanks!