Magical realism and the postcolonial novel
Subtitle: between faith and irreverence
By: Christopher Warnes.
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Published: 2009
Place of publication: Basingstoke; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 189
ISBN-13: 9780230545281
Subjects: Magic realism (Literature); Magisch realisme; Romans; Postkolonialisme; Romantiek
Description: Magical Realism and the Postcolonial Novel: Between Faith and Irreverence reinterprets the origins and nature of one of the most recognisable and important genres of twentieth century literature. Warnes locates the origins of the term in the work of Novalis, and examines its relations with romanticism. Drawing on the ideas of Alejo Carpentier and Jorge Luis Borges, Warnes argues that magical realism's relationships with the novel are characterised by contrasting orientatations: towards faith and irreverence. Detailed readings of key magical realist novels by Asturias, Carpentier, Garcia M̀rquez, Rushdie, and Okri confirm the relevance of the distinction to understanding both the novels themselves and the contexts from which they emerge. This major new study makes available a new and more precise vocabulary for the critical discussion of magical realism and is essential reading for anyone interested in the field or in twentieth century literature more broadly.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p.167-179) and index.
Table of contents: title: 1. Introduction: re-thinking magical realism; title: 2. Magical realism as postcolonial romance; title: 3. Faith, idealism, and irreverence in Asturias, Borges, and Carpentier; title: 4. Magical realism and defamiliarisation in Gabriel García Márquez's 'One hundred years of solitude'; title: 5. Migrancy and metamorphosis in Salman Rushdie's 'The satanic verses'; title: 6. The African world view in Ben Okri's 'The famished road'; title: 7. Conclusion.