concept
Magical Realism
Literary mode where the impossible appears matter-of-factly in an otherwise realistic world.
Origin
The term was coined for visual art by the German critic Franz Roh in 1925 ('Magischer Realismus'), but its literary fame comes from Latin American writers in the mid-20th century — Gabriel García Márquez, Jorge Luis Borges, Isabel Allende. In One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967), a woman ascends to heaven while folding laundry, and no one in the village finds it strange.
Modern usage
Standard in book reviews and creative-writing programs. The category is debated — many writers labeled magical realist (especially non-Latin-American ones) reject the term.
Tags
genre
fiction
latin-america