What is Magical Realism?
✗ A genre of literature that depicts the real world as having an undercurrent of magic and fantasy.
✗ 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.
✗ A literary genre closely associated with some Latin American twentieth-century authors.
Magical Realism is a type of literature that combines two
seemingly contrasting elements: reality and fantasy.
Magical Realism introduces supernatural or unreal
events into carefully observed depictions of real life.
Writers in this genre shock and surprise readers while
also providing insightful commentary or human nature
and perceptions.
About the Author Julio Cortazar
(1914-1984)
Julio Cortazar was an Argentine-French novelist, short story writer, essayist,
and translator. He was known as one of a few famous writers of magical
realism. Cortazar balances the elements of magical realism carefully, creating
a unique representation of a realistic world where dreamlike events can still
happen. He was also known for writing and translating English-American
Literature. Particularly that of Edgar Allan Poe, into Spanish.