How Magical Realism Derailed Fantasy

Among fantasy genre aficionados, a joke persists that magical realism is what they call fantasy when it’s written by a South American author.

It usually evokes a laugh when at a fantasy convention, but there are many in the literary world who would raise eyebrows at the joke. Fantasy is escapism, they might say, while magical realism still forces its reader to remain in the real world.

Part of this distinction, the argument goes, is that magical realism stops short of world building, instead preferring to dish out abstract and unusual magical elements into its narrative rather than present an entire new world to its readers.