Magical Realism and the Postcolonial Novel - by Christopher Warnes (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Magical Realism and the Postcolonial Novel reinterprets the origins and nature of one of the most recognisable and important genres of twentieth century literature. Published in paperback for the first time, this book 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, García Márquez, 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 students and researchers interested in the field or in twentieth century literature more broadly.

Review Quotes

'Clearly in touch with the central voices in this dialogue...Warnes achieves the task for which he aims. In the process, he composes a text that will be useful to both novice and experienced critics of magical realism, as well as scholars of postcolonial and twentieth-century literature more broadly' - Kim Sasser, University of Edniburgh, UK, Interventions

'If you are planning (or already deliver) a final-year undergraduate or postgraduate course dedicated to magical realism be it within postcolonial studies, comparative literature, or Hispanic (Latin American) studies this book can provide a complete guide for the course...this is is a fresh evaluation of a well-scrutinized field, demonstrating that the loose genre of magical realism, despite having been approached from all angles and savaged in many a poorly researched undergraduate essay, still bears valuable

substance for an understanding of the literature.' -William Rowlandson, University of Kent, UK, Modern Language Review

'This book is a good attempt to pull together the various and often contradictory strands of writing that can be categorized as magical realism and to see similarities amongst them, as well as weighing up and evaluating the range of theoretical work that has been published on magical realism. Furthermore, Warnes attempts to not only focus on the ludic qualities of this style of writing, which many other theorists have documented, but to argue for the realism of some of these works.' - Sara Mills, Sheffield Hallam University, UK, Safundi, THe Journal of South African and American Studies

'Among the recent publications which seek to offer yet another re-definition of magical realism, Christopher Warnes' study Magical Realism and the Postcolonial Novel: Between Faith and Irreverence accomplishes a double feat: while bringing into dialogue the development of both the term 'magical realism' and the mode itself, Warnes develops two paradigms representing two major structural and functional tendencies in magical realism...The result is not a redefinition of magical realism, but a thought provoking re-contextualization which offers a typology capable of spanning the varieties of the mode...the book is highly recommendable for anyone exploring magical realism, postcolonial literatures or hybrid genres.' -Jelena Kovacevic-Löckner, KULT online

About the Author

CHRISTOPHER WARNES is University Lecturer in English and a Fellow of St John's College, University of Cambridge, UK.