Magical Realism in Latin American Fiction

Flying carpets, talking objects, ghosts who return from beyond the grave… all of these are elements of magical realism, a literary genre which originated in Latin America and is still closely entwined with the region. But what makes magical realism different from fantasy? And what are authors trying to communicate by writing in this literary genre? In this course, we will look at the characteristics of magical realism and what it conveys and study samples of magical realism writing from some of Latin America’s best-loved authors.