magical realism
Wondrous everyday fiction
Magical realism is a literary and artistic style in which fantastical elements appear matter-of-factly within otherwise realistic settings.
Unlike fantasy, which creates separate worlds, magical realism weaves the supernatural into everyday life without explanation or surprise: In the novel, the grandmother's ghost simply joins the family for dinner.
The term originated with Latin American literature, particularly Gabriel García Márquez, but has spread globally.
- science fictionSpeculative fiction with technological themes
- time loopsEvents endlessly repeating themselves
- fantasyImaginative mental wandering
- surrealismIrrational, dreamlike aesthetic
- colonial historyRecord of empire-building
Gabriel García Márquez · historical fiction · fairytale · flying carpets · folklore · mystery · Toni Morrison · metamorphosis · satire · absurdism · ghosts · spirit world · Latin American · intertextuality · cultural heritage · family saga · mythology · legend
- Hispanic LiteratureGabriel Garcia Marquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude, Pablo Neruda, Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes
- booksnovel, textbooks, study guides, book, paperback
- fantasywizard, witch, dragon, elf, dwarf
- genresaction, comedy, detective fiction, fantasy, horror
- kids' bookschildren's literature, storybooks, picture books, easy readers, bedtime stories
- talestale, funny stories, tall tales, short story, yarns
magical realismrealism
Accepting things as they are
naturalism · social realism · kitchen sink realism · literary realism · documentary fiction
magical realismnaturalism
Worldview excluding the supernatural
gritty realism · social realism · neorealism · reportage · photorealism
magical realismgenre fiction
Conventional, plot-driven popular books
hard science fiction · whodunit · sword and sorcery · urban fantasy · paranormal romance
magic, magical, magician, realism, magically, magicians, magick