Magical Realist Fiction: An Anthology

by David Young (Editor), Keith Hollaman (Editor), Franz Kafka

A treasure trove of unusual fiction spanning authors from Gogol and Kafka through Woolf and Nabokov to Calvino, Garcia Marquez, and Barthelme. A poet's companion, a student's delight, great bedside reading.


Magical Realist Fiction includes:


The nose by Nikolai Gogol
The porcelain doll by Leo Tolstoy
The wardrobe by Thomas Mann
A tale of the cavalry by Hugo von Hofmannsthal
The jolly corner by Henry James
The death of Chamberlain Brigge (excerpt). The hand (excerpt) by Rainer Marie Rilke
Odour of chrysanthemums. The blind man by D.H. Lawrence
A country doctor. The bucket rider by Franz Kafka
The sin of Jesus by Isaac Babel
Lyompa by Yuri Olesha
The Egyptian stamp (excerpt) by Osip Emilievich Mandelstam
The great frost (excerpt) by Virginia Woolf
The street of crocodiles by Bruno Schulz
The visit to the museum by Vladimir Nabokov
New islands by María Luisa Bombal
In the land of magic (excerpt) by Henri Michaux
The old people by William Faulkner
Moon Lake by Eudora Welty
The piano by Aníbal Monteiro Machado
The aleph. The south by Jorge Luis Borges
My life with the wave by Octavio Paz
The enormous radio by John Cheever
The guest by Vjekoslav Kaleb
Gogol's wife by Tommaso Landolfi
Major Aranda's hand by Alfonso Reyes
Axolotl. The night face up by Julio Cortázar
Journey to the seed by Alejo Carpentier
The smallest woman in the world by Clarice Lispector
Aura by Carlos Fuentes
In the village by Elizabeth Bishop
The distance of the moon. Invisible cities (excerpt) by Italo Calvino
A very old man with enormous wings. Blacamán the Good, vendor of miracles by Gabriel García Márquez
Cloud maker by Robert Escarpit
Views of my father weeping by Donald Barthelme
The angels (excerpt) by Milan Kundera

Genres: Magical Realism, Short Stories, Fiction, Fantasy, Anthologies, Literature, Speculative Fiction

528 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1984

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

David Pollock Young was an American poet, translator, editor, literary critic and professor. His work includes 11 volumes of poetry, translations from Italian, Chinese, German, Czech, Dutch, and Spanish, critical work on Shakespeare, Yeats, and modernist poets, and landmark anthologies of prose poetry and magical realism. He co-founded and edited the magazine FIELD: Contemporary Poetry and Poetics for its 50 years of publication. Young was Longman Professor Emeritus of English at Oberlin College, and was the recipient of awards including NEA and Guggenheim fellowships.

Reviews

[Kamakana · Rating 5 out of 5]

060917: historical collection of magic realism often authors already known. some great read: gogol, tolstoy, mann, rilke, james, kafka, mandelstam... some great unread: schulz, bombal, michaux, welty, paz, cheever, kaleb, landolfi, bishop, escarpit... favourites: 'the hand' by rilke, 'visit to the museum' by nabokov, 'in the land of magic' by michaux, 'the piano' by machado, 'my life with the wave' by paz, 'the enormous radio' by cheever, 'the guest' by kaleb, 'gogol's wife' by landolfi, 'major aranda's hand' by reyes, 'axoltol' by cortazar, 'aura' by fuentes, 'cloud maker' by escarpit, 'the angels' by kundera... more authors to look for!

[Abbie O'Hara · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is possibly the worst anthology I have ever encountered. MAGICAL REALISM WAS INVENTED IN LATIN AMERICA. Yet we are only discussing about 5 writers from the global south??? This is disgusting and I’m frankly appalled. There is a fundamental failure in distinguishing magical realism from the entire genre of modernism here. I should have guessed this was a whitewashed mess from the cover. German magical realism will always be secondary to the endeavors of the Global South. 🖕Furthermore the anthology grossly EXAGGERATES the development of very early nascent German magical realism and it’s impact on the literary realm. This exaggeration overstates the influence, vision, and impact of WHITE German MR literature at this time. It is not until the mid 20th century that Germany’s influence in MR is prominent and only AFTER the development of the genre in Latin America that it is fully realized in Europe. This teleological history of magical realism is clearly misunderstanding the development of the genre and it’s growth from previous Latin American artistic movements such as their romanticism and nationalistic movements. I suggest Young and Hollaman revisit their Spanish literature 101 course notes - I doubt either of them are even remotely versed in Latin American literary movements. I’m seeing underdeveloped footnotes for very important, if not, canonical texts of MR here. I’m astounded at the lack of representation here - if you can even call it representation at this point because how are we NOT representing the inventors of the very field of study as to which we are discussing. It has shocked me that this anthology contains more white men than Latin American writers. I was expecting it to be almost entirely comprised of Latin American writers when this is just the opposite of the anthology’s reality. This book should be condemned in academia and I regret paying money for such a racist and insulant item. Fuck Young and Hollaman tbh. Picks.

[melina · Rating 5 out of 5]

every story absolutely destroyed me

[Pat Settegast · Rating 4 out of 5]

This anthology uses a wide range of literature to examine different elements of magical realism. The editors work categorically to question critical assumptions and further deliniate tools or palletes with which the various authors are working. I am gradually working through it, and I've already learned some new favorites: Maria Luisa Bombal "New Islands," Henri Michaux!, Thomas Mann "The Wardrobe," and Anibal Monteiro Machado's "The Piano." There's plenty of room given to all the old heavy-hitters: Kafka, Babel, Woolf, Nabokov, Borges, Calvino, Garcia Marquez, (even the older Barthelme!), Kundera.

Among the more conspicuously absent names is Cervantes. The one fellow upon who's shoulders the genre rests (if we consider Apuleius Neo-Platonic and Moses Non-Fiction). I would also enjoy more dialogue between East and West. The Chinese classic Journey to the West or the Japanese gothic tales of Kyoka Izumi come to mind quickest - with the Eastern Russian kosmokrat Iurii Medvedev bridging the gap (if one can be said to exist). Still, here's a good anthology to throw at your mother when she asks: 'Why do you want to be a magical realist?'

[Jocelyn Paige Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amazing overview of stories in the vein of magical realism. I loved many of these stories, and was introduced to a lot of authors unknown to me, Clarice Lispector and Tommaso Landolfi are two of my favorites now.

This is a great anthology, but the concentration is mostly on Latin American and European authors.

My favorites:
“The Smallest Woman in the World” by Clarice Lispector
“Cloud Maker” by Robert Escarpit
“New Islands” by Maria Luisa Bombal
“The Piano” by Anibal Monteiro Machado
“Gogol’s Wife” by Tommaso Landolfi

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last Anthology I spent any time in was Norton's .. pretty sure I have its blue self stored away still. Curiosity re the definition of Magical Realism had me pick this up .. once finished .. and yes, I read it all .. I still do not have a clear handle on it. Heavy on Russian and Latin writers ...

[NIKHILDEV.S]

magical realist fiction

[L.A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

the private notes section is annoyingly too small, so I shall have to put my thoughts here . . .

Leo Tolstoy - "The Porcelain Doll" excerpt from a letter, 3/5

Nikolai Gogol - "The Nose" 4/5

Thomas Mann - "The Wardrobe" 3/5

Isaac Babel - "The Sin of Jesus" 3/5

Jorge Luis Borges - "The Aleph" 5/5
"The South" 4/5

Julio Cortazar - "Axolotl" 4/5
"The Night Face Up" 5/5

Bruno Schulz - "The Street of Crocodiles" thee-forsaken, too bloated.

Vladimir Nabokov - "The Visit to the Museum" 4/5

Maria Luisa Bombal - "New Islands" 4/5

Henri Michaux - In the Land of Magic (excerpt=no context) 3/5

Hugo von Hofmannsthal - "A Tale of the Cavalry" thee-forsaken, boring and list-y.

Henry James - "The Jolly Corner" thee-forsaken. too henry james.

Rainer Maria Rilke - "The Death of Chamberlain Brigge" excerpt from The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge, 4/5
"The Hand" excerpt from same, 4/5

Franz Kafka - "The Country Doctor" 3/5
"The Bucket Rider" 3/5

DH Lawrence - "Odour of Chrysanthemums" 3/5
"The Blind Man" 4/5
but neither story is magical realism, imo.

Yuri Olesha - "Lyompa" 3.5/5
"The cuts on his fingers were covered with golden, appetizing scabs." maybe this is a weird translation, but thank god for it. brilliant sentence.

Osip Emilievich Mandelstam - The Egyptian Stamp excerpt. thee-forsaken. like being thrown into some idiotic stranger's circle of gossip.

Virginia Woolf - The Great Frost (excerpt from Orlando), 4/5

Anibal Monteiro Machado - "The Piano" 3/5

Octavio Paz - "The Wave" 4/5

Alfonso Reyes - "Major Aranda's Hand" 3/5

Carlos Fuentes - "Aura" 5/5

Eudora Welty - "Moon Lake" 2/5

John Cheever - "The Enormous Radio" 3/5

Clarice Lispector - "The Smallest Woman in the World" 4/5

Alejo Carpenter - "Journey to the Seed" thee-forsaken

Vjekoslav Kaleb - "The Guest" - 2/5

[Jeff Hobbs]

Read so far:

*The nose / Nikolai Gogol --
*The porcelain doll / Leo Tolstoy --
The wardrobe / Thomas Mann --
A tale of the cavalry / Hugo von Hofmannsthal --
*The jolly corner / Henry James --
Odour of chrysanthemums / D.H. Lawrence --3
*The blind man / D.H. Lawrence --
A country doctor / Franz Kafka --1
*The bucket rider / Franz Kafka --
The sin of Jesus / Isaac Babel --
Lyompa / Yuri Olesha --
*The street of crocodiles / Bruno Schulz --
The visit to the museum / Vladimir Nabokov --
*New islands / María Luisa Bombal --
The old people / William Faulkner --
*Moon Lake / Eudora Welty --
The piano / Aníbal Monteiro Machado --
The aleph / Jorge Luis Borges --
The south / Jorge Luis Borges --
*My life with the wave / Octavio Paz --
The enormous radio / John Cheever --3
The guest / Vjekoslav Kaleb (NA)--
*Gogol's wife / Tommaso Landolfi --
Major Aranda's hand / Alfonso Reyes --
Axolotl / Julio Cortazar --1
*The night face up / Julio Cortázar --
Journey back to the source / Alejo Carpentier --3
The smallest woman in the world / Clarice Lispector --1
*Aura / Carlos Fuentes --
In the village / Elizabeth Bishop --
*The distance of the moon / Italo Calvino --
A very old man with enormous wings / Gabriel Garcia Marquez --2
Blacamán the Good, vendor of miracles / Gabriel García Márquez --
Cloud maker / Robert Escarpit (NA)--
*Views of my father weeping / Donald Barthelme --

[Jacob Euteneuer · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid anthology, but there are lots of clunkers throughout this collection. In particular, the editors go to a lot of trouble to show that magical realism has existed in Western and Russian lit for a long time, too bad none of it is any good. When they finally get to some of the more contemporary stuff (1945-present), then the selections become stronger.

[Amanda]

So far I am just on the first story which is this odd little number by Gogol about a man, an uppity Russian clerk (is there any other kind), who loses his nose and then realizes that his nose is surrepticiously dating the woman that he loves. At least I think that's what's happening.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read around this book for my class on magical realism. Hit and miss like all anthologies, but a great into to a bum like me.

[Lizzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this collection of magical realism stories.

[AgnesAgnes]

I like Henri Michaux, Octavio Paz, Julio Cortázar and Gabriel García Márquez (Gregory Robassa served the great translation) the most.

[Beatrice Morgan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this book for class. It's not my cup of tea. The stories were all packed with telling, sodden narration, and the font was extremely hard to read.