Magic Realism Texts
Primary and Secondary Resources for all your Magic Realism Needs
Primary Resources
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Gregor Samsa wakes up to find himself a big, bad bug. A creepy classic of proto-Magic Realism.
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We don't tend to think of Virginia Woolf as a Magic Realist, but she certainly pulls off some Magic Realist tricks in this novel about a protagonist who changes genders over the course of a few centuries.
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This story will get your head spinning with its endless mazes of books.
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In this itty-bitty short story, we can already see Márquez's Magic Realist style developing.
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This one's about a boy living in Nazi Germany who communicates using his tin drum. Good luck, buster.
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More of Borges' mind-bending literary acrobatics in this collection of short stories. It's called Labyrinths for a reason.
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It's the quintessential Magic Realist novel. Set in Colombia, it's got levitating priests, flower rain showers, and a baby born with a tail.
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Saleem Sinai, the narrator of Rushdie's novel, is born at the exact moment of India's independence. And did we mention that he can read minds?
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Allende does Magic Realism with a feminist twist in this novel about a family living through turbulent political times in South America.
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Canadian author Timothy Findley retells the story of Noah and the flood... but in this Magic Realist novel, Noah is the bad guy.
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A baby ghost comes back to haunt her mother. What's up with that? You'll have to read the novel to find out.
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Two friends survive a plane explosion only to find themselves transformed into a devil and an angel. This is just one of the many extraordinary things that happen in this famous Magic Realist novel.
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Tita, the protagonist of Esquivel's novel, can infuse her emotions into the food she cooks. Sometimes it's tasty; sometimes it's nasty.
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The amazing storyteller Eva Luna tells twenty-three fantastic stories in this collection.
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Magic Realism done in Nigerian style, this baby is all about a spirit child who moves between the world of the living and the world of the spirits.
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Yunior tells all about the curse that has plagued Oscar Wao's family in this Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Dominican author Junot Diaz.
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This novel about a girl living in an unnamed Balkan country is full of magical stories, including one about a woman married to a tiger.
Secondary Resources
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A great introduction to the Magic Realism movement, this book delves into the movement's origins in the visual arts and literature.
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Here's a collection of essays that includes all the key critical texts that have attempted to define Magic Realism.
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In this study, Sturgis looks at how women writers utilize Magic Realism to talk about themes related to gender.
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A great overview of the history and development of Magical Realism, including a discussion of all the big authors in the movement.