Magical realism is an aesthetic style or genre of fiction, film and visual art in which magical elements blend with the real world. The story explains these magical elements as real occurrences, presented in a straightforward manner that places the “real” and the “fantastic” in the same stream of thought.
The question this raises is how is it different to fantasy? Magical realism is set in the real world. Fantasy is set in a fantasy world. Even in urban fantasy, the witches, fairies, vampires and so on that populate the world make it not the real world as we know it. The real difference lies in the purpose of the magical elements. In magical realism they are there to illuminate the magical, mystical and imaginative aspects of life.
Magical realism titles are
A Matter of Perception - selected stories from
