An Essay On Magical Realism
"Magic Realism Defies Genres" is the title of an essay written by Neil Ayres, editor of Serendipity, an online magazine devoted to magical realism and contemporary light fantasy. His essay is online at The Man Booker Prize website.
(Serendipity is the site where K. Aton-Osias's story, The River Stone Heart Of Maria Dela Rosa, is published, as was announced here last November.)
The essay tries to address issues such as "magical realism is simply fantasy written in Spanish", and ponders why it sits happily with literary judges while other genres don't. He mentions authors like M. John Harrison, Jeff Vandermeer, Ursula K. Le Guin, China Mieville, and many others while expounding on his thoughts. He talks about why he finds "realism at odds with a good story", and how novels like The Kite Runner are "undermined by their reliance on contrivance of situation". He wonders too why Gulliver's Travels isn't on the Science Fiction and Fantasy shelves of bookstores.
The essay won't take long to read. Check it out.
(Serendipity is the site where K. Aton-Osias's story, The River Stone Heart Of Maria Dela Rosa, is published, as was announced here last November.)
The essay tries to address issues such as "magical realism is simply fantasy written in Spanish", and ponders why it sits happily with literary judges while other genres don't. He mentions authors like M. John Harrison, Jeff Vandermeer, Ursula K. Le Guin, China Mieville, and many others while expounding on his thoughts. He talks about why he finds "realism at odds with a good story", and how novels like The Kite Runner are "undermined by their reliance on contrivance of situation". He wonders too why Gulliver's Travels isn't on the Science Fiction and Fantasy shelves of bookstores.
The essay won't take long to read. Check it out.
posted by pgenrestories at 12:18 PM
3 Comments:
Hi. I saw this blog post on SF. I thought you'd be interested. It's called A lament for science fiction. Author is on the novel jury of the SFWA.
Quote:
"Science fiction has changed a lot, unfortunately, not for the better. It used to be adventure literature for young men, now it's romance literature for middle-aged women. That's why young men now play science fiction-based computer games instead of reading science fiction novels and so-called science fiction publishers churn out book after book about sexy vampires, seductive were-seals and strong independent forty-something single women looking for love in space."
Hello. I posted my views here:
http://antonalfredo.blogspot.com/2007/12/on-magic-realism-defies-reality.html
Hi jego, anton. Thanks for your inputs!
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