Catching Butterflies: Bringing Magical Realism to GroundMagical realism was one of the most significant literary developments in the last century. It has become synonymous with the seductive fictions of writers such as Gabriel García Márquez, Salman Rushdie, Toni Morrison, Ben Okri, Jeanette Winterson and Peter Carey. However, the genre has also become known for its theoretical indeterminacy. In fact, exoticist speculation, inspired by the links between magical realist literature and the world's cultural or political margins, has thrown the category into critical disrepute. This book rescues magical realism from misreadings and misdemeanours, tracing the historical development of the literary genre and analysing an original spectrum of magical realist texts from Latin America, Africa, India, Canada, the US, the UK and Australia. It asks such questions as: How did magical realism come to take over the world? What is the nature of its allure? Also, how does the marginal status of its authors inform the genre? Does magical realism have a political agenda? This book uses postcolonial theory to investigate notions of cultural identity and post-structural theory to examine the narrative strategies of magical realism, presenting a comprehensive historical and theoretical overview of the genre and a politically urgent argument about its subversive potentialities. |
Contents
INTRODUCTION | 13 |
magical realism | 74 |
Such stuff as nationalist dreams are made | 83 |
Copyright | |
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Aboriginal According African-Cuban Afro-Cubanism Afro-Cubanist Alejo Carpentier American marvelous real appears arguably argues that magical Australian authenticity authors avant-garde Azaro Borges Breton Carpentier and Asturias Carpentier's theory Carpentierian characterization claims Cloudstreet colonial constitutes contends critics D'haen deconstructive depiction describes discourse European example extra-textual fact Famished Road fantastic Faris Flores Gabriel García Márquez García Márquez Ghost Dreaming imperialist indigenist indigenous Latin American marvelous Latin American reality lo real maravilloso Macondo magical margins magical realist art magical realist fiction magical realist label magical realist literary magical realist literature magical realist novel magical realist painting magical realist texts magical realist writing Manichean manifests Men of Maize Menton Midnight's Children Modern Primitivism Mudrooroo myth narrative genre narrator nation nationalist nature parochial political portray postcolonial postmodern prologue real marvelous realidad realist genre realist narrative representation Roh's Rushdie's Saleem similarly Solitude strategy suggests supernatural Surrealism Surrealist truth unreal Western world view writers of magical