What is Magical Realism?

Oh.

You're still reading? I'm amazed with your determination. Let me guess;  you have no clue as to what magical realism actually is. Which is why your still here.( Curiosity killed the cat you know ...but hey it's your funeral )

So...

Let me give you some basic definitions:

1. Wikipedia (Which is probably the first thing everybody gets when they look up anything online.)

Says that" Magic realism or magical realism is an aesthetic style or genre of fiction in which magical elements blend to create a realistic atmosphere that accesses a deeper understanding of reality. The story explains these magical elements as normal occurrences, presented in a straightforward manner that places the "real" and the "fantastic" in the same stream of thought. It is a literary and visual art genre; creative fields that exhibit less significant signs of magic realism include film and music.

The term is broadly descriptive rather than critically rigorous: Matthew Strecher defines magic realism as "...what happens when a highly detailed, realistic setting is invaded by something 'too strange to believe.""

2. Lindstrom author of Twentieth-Century Spanish American Literature says here .

Magical Realism is" A narrative technique that blurs the distinction between fantasy and reality. It is characterized by an equal acceptance of the ordinary and the extraordinary. Magic realism fuses  lyrical and, at times, fantastic writing with an examination of the character of human existence and  an implicit criticism of society, particularly the elite. 

A secondary trait was the characteristic attitude of narrators toward the subject matter: they frequently appeared to accept events contrary to the usual operating laws of the universe as natural, even unremarkable. Though the tellers of astonishing tales, they themselves expressed little or no surprise."

3. Susan J. Napier on the site Magical Realism: Definitions 

Says "Magical realism takes the supernatural for granted and spends more of its space exploring the gamut of human reactions."

Do I have my own definition of Magical Realism? At the moment no. I'm still knew to it and happy to be learning. Hopefully these helped you as much as they helped me.