I was completely flummoxed by the term "magical realism" when I first ran into it. The more I learn about it, the more I like Gene Wolfe's definition: as "fantasy written in Spanish." There's definitely an overlap with fantasy, just as the fantasy subgenres (urban, high, dark, etc.) can sometimes be mixmastered by authors in really fun ways: like DD's mix of science fiction and fantasy.
I do crack up though, over the idea that genre fiction can't be serious writing. One of the worst examples of this I ever heard about was the New York Times Book Review of Maus, which began with the words, "This is not a comic book." Because, of course, comic books couldn't have any real literary value. (sigh). And you can see this thinking by just walking into a Barnes & Noble--there's the "Fiction and Literature" section, then there's the "Science Fiction & Fantasy," "Young Readers," "Romance," "Horror," and "Mystery" ghettos outside of it.
Wicked gets to be a Real Book. But Stealing the Elf King's Roses doesn't. Completely nuts.
There's a short story I know that will never be shelved under fantasy even though the story is mainly shaped by ghosts, spirits, and even time-travel and alternate realities. You know this story, too. I doubt you'd ever have classified it as fantasy: Dickens's "A Christmas Carol." Genre's in the eye of the beholder.
I do crack up though, over the idea that genre fiction can't be serious writing. One of the worst examples of this I ever heard about was the New York Times Book Review of Maus, which began with the words, "This is not a comic book." Because, of course, comic books couldn't have any real literary value. (sigh). And you can see this thinking by just walking into a Barnes & Noble--there's the "Fiction and Literature" section, then there's the "Science Fiction & Fantasy," "Young Readers," "Romance," "Horror," and "Mystery" ghettos outside of it.
Wicked gets to be a Real Book. But Stealing the Elf King's Roses doesn't. Completely nuts.
There's a short story I know that will never be shelved under fantasy even though the story is mainly shaped by ghosts, spirits, and even time-travel and alternate realities. You know this story, too. I doubt you'd ever have classified it as fantasy: Dickens's "A Christmas Carol." Genre's in the eye of the beholder.
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