Magical Realism: Theory, History, Community

by Lois Parkinson Zamora (Editor), Wendy B. Faris (Editor)

Magical realism is often regarded as a regional trend, restricted to the Latin American writers who popularized it as a literary form. In this critical anthology, the first of its kind, editors Lois Parkinson Zamora and Wendy B. Faris show magical realism to be an international movement with a wide-ranging history and a significant influence among the literatures of the world. In essays on texts by writers as diverse as Toni Morrison, Günter Grass, Salman Rushdie, Derek Walcott, Abe Kobo, Gabriel García Márquez, and many others, magical realism is examined as a worldwide phenomenon.
Presenting the first English translation of Franz Roh’s 1925 essay in which the term magical realism was coined, as well as Alejo Carpentier’s classic 1949 essay that introduced the concept of lo real maravilloso to the Americas, this anthology begins by tracing the foundations of magical realism from its origins in the art world to its current literary contexts. It offers a broad range of critical perspectives and theoretical approaches to this movement, as well as intensive analyses of various cultural traditions and individual texts from Eastern Europe, Asia, North America, Africa, the Caribbean, and Australia, in addition to those from Latin America. In situating magical realism within the expanse of literary and cultural history, this collection describes a mode of writing that has been a catalyst in the development of new regional literatures and a revitalizing force for more established narrative traditions—writing particularly alive in postcolonial contexts and a major component of postmodernist fiction.

Genres: Magical Realism, Nonfiction, Literary Criticism, School, Writing, Research, Books About Books

592 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1995

Reviews

[Kamakana · Rating 4 out of 5]

270717: useful and engaging lit crit. collected essays. some very good, some less. begins with history, then theory, then community as known in 1995. perhaps best if stories already read. many authors i have read, some i have read of, all some difference from what passes as 'realism'. and notes the force of readers' pleasure over 'modernist' version of realism that is often difficult to read. the strange, the fantastic, the discourse that escapes or is incorporated by dominant political, cultural, experienced real. academic and intriguing, this suggests many works i will search for...

[amelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

so i didn't actually read all the essays in this book but the ones i did read were really interesting and perfect for my secondary reading on magical realism!

[ak · Rating 4 out of 5]

I confess, this is probably the first book I've ever marked read that I haven't read every page of--I skipped a couple of the essays that weren't relevant to my course and had to give it back to the library before I left the country. Having read at least 80% of it, though, I feel confident in my assessment that it's a bit of a mixed bag. Some of the essays are great and insightful, some of them I spent a while staring at the page and re-reading sentence where English Canadian literature was classified as "postcolonial" (um? I know Canada was a colony, but there's a reason why we don't call white American literature "postcolonial," and it applies here too). Very useful collection overall, though--gives you essays to support and essays to push back against. Would recommend to anyone studying magical realist literature.

[Abbie O'Hara · Rating 5 out of 5]

collection of foundational literary criticism to magical realism that i highly recommend one read if they are struggling to understand the history of literary criticism/scholarship of magical realism vs modernism or surrealism - great way to understand chronological/thematic/and critical elements of the genre.

[Sidonie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disclaimer: I have not read all the essays in this book, however I've read half of the book. The essays offer a great introduction to magical realism, most of them are well written and easily understandable. They also tackle many different themes which was very valuable.

[Madly Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent collection of essays on the aspects of Magic Realism. I really enjoyed it. Been slowly reading it over time, one essay to ponder over for as long as I needed. I started in September of 2024. Smiling. So worth it.

[Sirius Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

a good collection of essays and a good reference book for those who want to learn and write about magical realism

[Cristina Popescu · Rating 5 out of 5]

The definitive authority on the matter.

[Annabelle Wilson]

Ok I skipped many chapters but spent so much time with the others that it COUNTS okay

[Billy Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

An indispensable collection of essays on magical realism. This is a must for anyone researching or writing about the mode. Faris and Zamora's pioneering compendium contains essays from the most influential scholars (themselves included) working on the theoretical, stylistic and cultural questions surrounding magical realism.

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

for my Contemporary Novels course.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not read every essay in here, but this is a solid resource on the subject.

[Rio Priadmaja · Rating 5 out of 5]

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[Kaye Linden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am waiting to read this book. I love magic realism. I'm hoping to learn as much as I can about writing the genre.