Isabel Allende [1]: \"Let's first...

Isabel Allende: "Let's first begin by defining 'Magical Realism'. Magical Realism is a genre that combines realitiy and surreality onto the same plane. Many people confuse this genre with Science Fiction so let me give you a quick example that highlights the difference between the two: 'She ascended to heaven'. That's science fiction because the phenomenon of a person rising to heaven is entirely extraordinary. 'She ascended to heaven wrapped a flickering flame of silk sheets'. Now that's magical realism because the silk sheets offer a mysterious explanation as to why and how this woman is floating to heaven. With such vivid imagery and tangible reality, what WAS extraordinary now seems to be much more plausible, although the explanation for it is illogical and strange. Magical realism, therefore, is a perfect device for expressing a reality that is rich and complex. Personally, however, I don't like how critics came up with this term because I believe that magical occurences in everyday life is not so implausible so to assign a special term for is is quite discouraging."