Magic(al) Realism

by Maggie Ann Bowers

Bestselling novels by Angela Carter, Salman Rushdie, Gabriel Garcia Marquez and a multitude of others have enchanted us by blurring the lines between reality and fantasy. Their genre of writing has been variously defined as 'magic', 'magical' or 'marvellous' realism and is quickly becoming a core area of literary studies. This guide offers a first step for those wishing to consider this area in greater depth, This is an essential guide for those interested in or studying one of today's most popular genres.

Genres: Magical Realism, Nonfiction, Literary Criticism, Criticism, Literature, Class

160 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2004

Reviews

[SeirenAthena · Rating 4 out of 5]

A palatable survey of magic(al) realism and its many literary, cultural, and artistic (film, painting) constituents. Quite interesting.

[amelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really helpful and approachable guide to magical realism.

[حسين عبدعلي · Rating 5 out of 5]

الواقعية السحرية
ماجي آن بورز


لكثرة تداولها المفرط؛ تتعرض الكثير من المصطلحات إلى استلاب المعنى أو تتحول إلى كلاشيه. ولهذا التداول تظن الظن أنك تهضمه جيداً، إلى أن يصدمك سؤال صريح وواضح جداً حول ماهيته. (الواقعية) على سبيل المثال هو مصطلح جدلي وشائك، لكننا لا نتردد في وصف النصوص والأعمال المسرحية والسينمائية والتشكيلية بأنها واقعية أو غير واقعية. يا سيدي الفاضل: ما هي الواقعية؟!.. وبعيداً عن الحصول على إجابة نهائية وصريحة لمفهوم (الواقعية)، يبدو أن (الواقعية السحرية) أشد إرباكاً. ففي الوقت الذي تحوي فيه متناقضين اثنين، كل نقيض فيهما مربك وجدلي وقابل للنقاش، إلا أن هذا المصطلح لا يختلف كثيراً في كيفية تعاطينا له بشكل مبتذل وهو ما يؤدي إلى استلاب معناه.

إثر أحلام سادها الاضطراب يستيقظ غريغور سامسا ذات صباح فيجد أنه قد تحوّل في فراشه إلى حشرة. هكذا يبدأ كافكا رائعته "المسخ". والسؤال: إلى أي حد يمكن اعتبار هذه الرواية رواية واقعية سحرية؟ أم هي رواية رمزية بامتياز على الرغم من تقاطعها مع طفل ماركيز الذي يولد بذيل، وأنها بشكل أو بآخر تتضمن حدوث معجزة ما.

وبما أن الواقعية السحرية ظهرت أوّل ما ظهرت من صلب اللوحة وليس من رحم السرد، هذا يجعلنا أن نقف أمام لوحات دالي على سبيل المثال بوصفها سيريالية وليس واقعية سحرية، على عكس تجربة فريدا كالو التي هي في القرب أقرب لواقعيتها السحرية. وفي نفس السياق يمكننا التساؤل حول التجارب السينمائية التي يمكن -على مضض- اعتبارها تجارب تنطوي تحت مظلة هذا المصطلح مثل فيلم (كونك جون مالكوفيتش). وبالمثل ارتباط هذا المصطلح مع ثقافة الطفل.


بالنسبة لي -على الأقل- مع إيماني أن العالم تجاوز (الواقعية السحرية) حتى على مستوى أمريكا اللاتينية التي تعتبر الحاضن الأم لهذا المذهب، إلا أنني لا بد أن أعترف أنهُ لا يستهان به حتى في وقتنا الحالي. وأن مستقبلها محل نظر وتأمل وتخمين.

[Marwan Hamed · Rating 5 out of 5]

حلو ومهم جدًا. حياته في قعدة ممتعة

[Marion Hill]

Over the past couple of years, I have tried to find a home as reader (and a writer for that matter). While I’ve enjoyed reading across genres and have broadened my reading life in immeasurable ways. Still, I’ve always wanted a reading home that I connected with the most.

I have looked at my all-time favorite novels like Memory & Dream by Charles de Lint, Winter’s Tale by Mark Helprin, Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber, and Children of Earth & Sky by Guy Gavriel Kay to guide what really grabs me as a reader. What those novels have common is the place where fantasy and reality meet. Of course, most fiction could fit into that category. However, those aforementioned novels, with their fantastical elements woven into everyday life, more closely reflect my thirty years of embracing magical realism.

What is magical realism?

I will give you this definition: It fuses the two opposing aspects (the magical and the realist) together to form one new perspective. For this reason, it is considered that magical realism is a mode suited to exploring and transgressing boundaries.

I like that definition and it comes from author Maggie Ann Bowers’ introduction of her book Magical Realism. Bowers gives a scholarly look at the genre that got its origins in 1920s Germany and became popular in Latin America in the 1940s & 1950s. Writers across the globe have fully adopted the genre, each offering their own take on the interplay between the magical and the mundane.

Over seven chapters, Bowers explores the genre’s development across literature, film, and art. Also, she delves into the subversive aspects of the genre, especially with seminal works like One Hundred Years of Solitude of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie, and The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende. Bowers shares the criticism of the genre as well as where it’s heading in the future.

I’m not a scholar and I will admit those aspects of the book did not interest me as much. However, it was good to get a basic overview of the genre and point me to books like Pedro Paramo by Juan Rulfo, The Kingdom of This World by Alejo Carpentier, & The Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter. These novels were unknown to me, and I seek to cultivate a more comprehensive perspective within this genre, which I have now adopted as my preferred area of reading.

I’ll close by recommending “Magical Realism” by Maggie Bowers; it offers a historical perspective on this popular literary style for those interested in the genre. This is a book I will refer to often and has become one of my favorite reads of 2025.

[Madly Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

A small but highly organized and focused essay 127 pages on what Magic Realism is. I must confess, after I read two books on Magic Realism, I am not sure I am writing it. I believe my story crosses over into fantasy, but it was certainly inspired by Angela Carter and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Carter is covered a great deal in this book, while Hawthorne was covered in the other book I read, especially in terms of how Borges felt about him. At some point one just has to write what one writes. But it's close. Love this book. Loved the chapters on Angela Carter.

[Wawan Kurn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dari buku ini setidaknya saya menemukan hal menarik tentang Magical Realism, menemukan list buku, film serta lukisan Magical Realism.

Hidup saya akhir-akhir ini kadang menjelma jadi Magical Realism

[Jessica Schad Manuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great synthesis of the field.

[Marwan Hamed · Rating 5 out of 5]

كتاب حلوومهم جدًا وممتع..فيه بعض المشاكل بالنسبة لي لكن في المجمل محاولة صغيرة بسيطة جيدًا جدًا..اظن المراجع والمقالات والدراسات مفيدة للتوسع في المنطقة الجميلة دي

[Namrata Mistry · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great introduction to magic(al) realism!

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

When will the academic obsession with taxonomy end

[Ankita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helpful for research scholars of magical realism in Literature. Also, a goodread for anyone who wants to know about the origins and elements of magical realism.

[Júlia · Rating 4 out of 5]

lectura tfg

[damagedways]

A collection of magical realism stories that I had to read for my magical realism class.

[Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I discuss this interesting work of literary criticism in my latest post on Harris' Tome Corner, On the Edge of the Real: Is it Magical Realism? As someone who finds the idea of magic or magical realism fascinating but had little formal introduction to the term, this slim but dense work was an invaluable introduction.

[Charlotte Cowley · Rating 3 out of 5]

6 / 10

[James · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some preliminary theory before my south american jaunt

[Brigi]

I decided to write my term paper on magical realism in a relatively recent novel that is not exactly magical realist, so I basically have zero scholarly works to back me up... How stupid of me! I cry in retrospect. This is one of the general introduction books I got my hands on and I found many interesting things in it that I hope will be helpful. It was quite easy to read, which is always a huge surprise when it comes to lit criticism/theory, so that is a bonus point. I also liked that the author looked at various texts from all over the world, so I put some of them on my to-read list. However, it was quite shocking to see mistakes in the text - not sure if it's only in the pdf, but I noticed words/punctuation missing. I think it would have needed a copy editor.

[Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful but could have used a good copyeditor!

[Apoorva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite a decent introduction to the genre.

[Literature Lover · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

[Billy Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful, accessible and nicely structured introduction to magical realism.

[حسن ف · Rating 4 out of 5]

کتاب خوبیه، اما برای آشنایی با رئالیسم جادویی کافی نیست. متاسفانه در این باره هم کتاب ترجمه نداریم

[Emma Sea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review to come.

[Mills College Library]

700.41163 B7867 2004