Maria TAKOLANDER, Catching Butterflies. Bringing Magical Realism to Ground, Oxford / Bern / Berlin / Bruxelles / Francfort-sur-le-Main / New York / Vienne, Peter Lang (Europäische Hochschulschriften), 2007, 265 p.
ISBN 978-3-03911-193-0
US-ISBN 978-0-8204-8399-3
SUMMARY
Magical realism was one of the most significant literary developmentsin the last century. It has become synonymous with the seductivefictions of writers such as Gabriel García Márquez, Salman Rushdie,Toni Morrison, Ben Okri, Jeanette Winterson and Peter Carey. However,the genre has also become known for its theoretical indeterminacy. Infact, exoticist speculation, inspired by the links between magicalrealist literature and the world's cultural or political margins, hasthrown the category into critical disrepute.
This book rescuesmagical realism from misreadings and misdemeanours, tracing thehistorical development of the literary genre and analysing an originalspectrum of magical realist texts from Latin America, Africa, India,Canada, the US, the UK and Australia. It asks such questions as: Howdid magical realism come to take over the world? What is the nature ofits allure? Also, how does the marginal status of its authors informthe genre? Does magical realism have a political agenda?
Thisbook uses postcolonial theory to investigate notions of culturalidentity and post-structural theory to examine the narrative strategiesof magical realism, presenting a comprehensive historical andtheoretical overview of the genre and a politically urgent argumentabout its subversive potentialities.
CONTENTS
Defining magical realist literature
The roots of the magical realistlabel in the European art world
The confusion of magical realistfiction with magical realist painting
Separating magical realistfiction from magical realist painting
The development of magicalrealist literature in Latin America
The nationalization of magicalrealism in Latin America (and outside Latin America)
Interrogatinganthropological notions of magical realism (and exotic notions ofcultural identity associated with magical realism)
The links anddifferences between magical realist literature and postmodern fiction
The marginal politics of magical realism
Magical realism'scontradictory interests in deconstructing and reconstructing history.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Maria Takolander has a Ph.D. in Literary Studies from DeakinUniversity, where she is a Lecturer in the School of Communication andCreative Arts. Her poetry and critical work have been widely publishedin Australian and international journals.