“Only three things have ever astonished me: a dream within a dream, voices in an empty room, and fire the colour of ice.” – Silvina Ocampo, from a letter to A.M.
Why are those things astonishing?
Realism describes “reality” as we know it. But reality can be magical.
For example, in the fall, when you walk down the road, the sun is shining and the trees are bright with colors, what colors?
How would you describe an amazingly beautiful fall-colored tree?
That’s the magic part of life, of what we call reality.
What are other examples of amazing but real situations? Famous Colombian author, Gabriel García Márquez said that Magic Realism was actually closer to describing life than Realism, because life is so unexpected, and surprising, all the time!
Read this passage from one of Márquez’ most famous books called “One Hundred Years of Solitude.”
Notice where the writer surprises you.
They insisted so much that José Arcadio Buendia paid the thirty
reales and led them into the center of the tent, where there was a
giant with a hairy torso and a shaved head, with a copper ring in
his nose and a heavy iron chain on his ankle, watching over a
pirate chest. When it was opened by the giant, the chest gave off
a glacial exhalation. Inside there was only an enormous,
transparent block with infinite internal needles in which the light
of the sunset was broken up into colored stars. Disconcerted,
knowing that the children were waiting for an immediate
explanation, José Arcadio Buendia ventured a murmur:
“It’s the largest diamond in the world.”
“No,” the gypsy countered, “It’s…”
What is it?
One notable feature of Magic Realism is the very detailed description. It’s the way we know it’s real, we recognize the object as something familiar, but the writer has put it down in such a way that it becomes new to us again.
