[ SECRET POST #3370 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #3370 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 03 pages, 070 secrets from Secret Submission Post #482.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

Magic Realism

[(Anonymous)]

How would you describe this genre? The descriptions seem like fantasy to me; what is the difference between the two? Also, what are some examples of the genre?

Re: Magic Realism

[(Anonymous)]

I always assumed it was a world that is exactly like ours except for one sort of magical thing. And it has to be a specific magical thing.

Re: Magic Realism

[(Anonymous)]

No, I think that would be speculative fiction.

I think "fantasy" follows the world-building tropes of Robert E. Howard and J.R.R. Tolkien, while "magical realism" follows Spanish-language writers.

So, not as invested in made-up lands; not as invested in rugged heroes and melodrama villains; and more "literary"?

Re: Magic Realism

[(Anonymous)]

I guess magical realism is "weird stuff that's hard to believe happens in an otherwise normal world". I want to like the genre, but most of the magical realism books I've read have bored me to tears or sounded interesting, but ended up being boring. Some examples off the top of my head: The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, Bone Gap, and I'll Give You the Sun.

Re: Magic Realism

[(Anonymous)]

I mean, the most famous examples of the genre is of course Gabriel Garcia Marquez's body of work.

It has ties to fantasy, and its a kinda hard to describe genre, but where fantasy will have a whole world that is different, magic realism is for the most part a realistic depiction of our world, except for just a few elements of fantasy, usually meant to highlight something within the story. Or at least thats how I understand.

Re: Magic Realism

[(Anonymous)]

Yeah, I was going to come in with GGM as well. Like in Chronicle of a Death Foretold when the bullet that kills the guy goes through like an entire house before it hits him - it's totally fantastical but never really commented on. (Also, the Men in Blazers described Luis Suarez's statement after he bit a player for the third time as the best magical realism to come out of South America since GGM died, which is actually kind of a good example as well.)

Re: Magic Realism

[(Anonymous)]

1) Magical realism is set in our world or one very close to it that is recognizably real-ish and modern. And it is engaged with important features of the real world, not merely placed in a real world.

2) Magical realism is unconcerned with things like magic systems and rigorous accounts of powers, with concepts of magic often being drawn directly from folklore or even fairy tales. The emphasis will usually be more on the emotions and actions of the characters, rather than on the magic specifically.

3) Magical realism tends to be novelistic literary fiction and action will tend to be dramatic and emotional with a great emphasis placed on thematic complexity and prose quality, whereas more mainstream fantasy is going to be adventure-centered or mystery-based or something along those lines.

I'd say those are going to be your main differentiators that you're going to check. So you're going to be thinking of things like Gabriel Garcia Marquez or, in English, something like John Crowley's "Little, Big." It generally originates mostly in Spanish-language literature (and also some Eastern European stuff) and kind of radiates out from there.

Of course, like any genre, the definition gets pretty tricky after a certain point, but that's the basic thing that people are talking about when they talk about magical realism.

Re: Magic Realism

[(Anonymous)]

Here's the Encyclopedia of Fantasy entry, which is much more authoritative and which I should have just posted to start but I didn't think of it until after:

http://sf-encyclopedia.uk/fe.php?nm=magic_realism

Re: Magic Realism

[(Anonymous)]

so magic realism is basically a story w purple prose?

Re: Magic Realism

[(Anonymous)]

Purple prose is not quality prose! Purple prose is very bad prose!

But more to the point, yeah, magic realism is generally going to be more writerly than mainstream fantasy, and it's generally going to be coming from people who are more aligned with the broader literary community. I don't think that's a bad thing, although it's certainly not to everyone's taste.

To be honest, I'm not entirely sure where you're coming from here.

Re: Magic Realism

[(Anonymous)]

Based on what I've read, it's like the real world but with some fantastic twists, but these twists are do not have to be the center of the story or even really plot points. They may be noted only in passing and the characters treat them as normal, if they react at all.