Definition of Magic Realism

In the context of literature In the second half of the 20th century, a descriptive term was coined to refer to the literary style of some works. This term is magical realism.

Historical context and some of its representatives

This literary style is closely linked to the Latin American world and, in parallel, to the historical context of the 60s and 70s. At that time, the world was experiencing a moment of technological optimism and, at the same time, a period of tension between the United States and the Soviet Union (the so-called cold War and the race are two examples of tension between the two nations). Among the most prominent authors of magical realism are the Colombian Gabriel García Márquez, the Guatemalan Miguel Ángel Asturias, the Argentine Julio Cortázar or the Cuban Alejo Carpentier.

The writers of magical realism incorporate popular superstitions into their novels and stories as an element of reality itself.

The characters in the novels live in the real world, but that world is infused with magic and fantasy. This fusion between myth and reality is the synthesis of magical realism. The supernatural and the rational are naturally combined and, consequently, the characters are not surprised by certain strange phenomena, as they are part of their daily lives.

The magical elements that are part of the narration (for example, a man floating in a church before many people) are not explained as something strange or paranormal but are totally everyday and normal.

The description reality has a chaotic ingredient and everything sensory is combined margin of common sense (the senses taste, hearing or smell can become characters in the narrative).

The narrative time is distorted, in such a way that the past and the present are repeated and the time dimension is circular.

The border between life and death is blurred and the characters can die and then return to life as something absolutely normal.

In the narratives there is a realistic main thread but everything is wrapped in magic, endless lives or miracles that are not surprising.

The reader is trapped in two dimensions (magic and reality itself) and in the stories can enter a world that seems remote and ancestral but is part of the life of Latin America.

Photos: Fotolia - MM Studio / Albert Buchatskyy