Magical

realism is a genre of literature that depicts the real world as having

an undercurrent of magic or fantasy. Magical realism is a part of the realism genre of fiction.Within

a work of magical realism, the world is still grounded in the real

world, but fantastical elements are considered normal in this world.

Like fairy tales, magical realism novels and short stories blur the line

between fantasy and reality.What Is the History of Magical Realism?The

term “magischer realismus,” which translates to “magic realism,” was

first used in 1925 by German art critic Franz Roh in his book Nach Expressionismus: Magischer Realismus (After Expressionism: Magical Realism).

He used the term to describe the “Neue Sachlichkeit,” or New

Objectivity, a style of painting that was popular in Germany at the time

that was an alternative to the romanticism of expressionism. Roh

used the term “magischer realismus” to emphasize how magical,

fantastic, and strange normal objects can appear in the real world when

you stop and look at them.The genre was growing in popularity in South America when Nach Expressionismus: Magischer Realismus

was translated into Spanish in 1927. During a stay in Paris,

French-Russian Cuban writer Alejo Carpentier was influenced by magic

realism. He further developed Roh’s concept into what he called

“marvelous realism,” a distinction he felt applied to Latin America as a

whole. In 1955, literary

critic Angel Flores coined the term “magical realism” (as opposed to

“magic realism”) in English in an essay, stating that it combines

elements of magic realism and marvelous realism. He named Argentine

author Jorge Luis Borges the first magical realist, based on his

previously-published collection of short stories Historia Universal de la Infamia (A Universal History of Infamy).While

Latin American authors made magical realism what it is today, authors

had previously written stories about mundane situations with fantastical

elements before magical realism was a recognized literary genre. For

example, Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis—a

novel with themes that today’s critics would consider to be magical

realism—was published in 1915, a decade before Roh wrote about magic

realism and well before the genre emerged in Latin American literature.Every magical realism novel is different, but there are certain things they all include, such as:Realistic setting. All magical realism novels take place in a setting in this world that’s familiar to the reader. Magical elements.

From talking objects to dead characters to telepathy, every magical

realism story has fantastical elements that do not occur in our world.

However, they’re presented as normal within the novel. Limited information.

Magical realism authors deliberately leave the magic in their stories

unexplained in order to normalize it as much as possible and reinforce

that it is part of everyday life. Critique.

Authors often use magical realism to offer an implicit critique of

society, most notably politics and the elite. The genre grew in

popularity in parts of the world like Latin America that were

economically oppressed and exploited by Western countries. Magic realist

writers used the genre to express their distaste and critique American

Imperialism. Unique plot structure. Magical realism does not follow a typical narrative arc

with a clear beginning, middle, and end like other literary genres.

This makes for a more intense reading experience, as the reader does not

know when the plot will advance or when the conflict will take place.