Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Magic realism

Magic realism: blending fantastic or mythical elements in a matter-of-fact way into seemingly realistic fiction. The term magic realism is relatively recent, being first applied by Cuban novelist Alejo Carpentier, in the 1940s, when he recognized this style in much Latin-American literature. Among the Latin-American magic realists are Gabriel García Márquez, Jorge Amado, Jorge Luis Borges and Isabel Allende.

Magic realism is also described as an aesthetic style of fiction, which mixes magical elements with the real world. The narrative explains such magical elements as real occurrences, presenting them in a straightforward manner that places reality and the fantastical in the same stream of thought.

Salman Rushdie famously uses the technique in The Satanic Verses to great effect.

Banned Books

Image via WikipediaI just came across a website dealing with books that have been banned. Unbelievably there are places in so-called civilised countries (like the USA, the home of free speech) where books are regularly banned even today. What are these people afraid of, I wonder? Is it the truth, by any chance? Some of the banned books are literary classics, others are just straightforward stories or factual volumes. Since none of the books I've so far seen identified are either pornographic or full of gratuitous violence, I can only assume that the banners are terrified of the opinions of others whose views do no correspond with their own. Such fear is clearly born of doubt, since anyone who is confident in their beliefs, whatever they are, has no reason to fear exposure to other ideas. To be so wrong and to be so certain you are right must be the worst form of blindness, don't you think?

So, what do you think about this one? I'd welcome your views.

It's now an ambition of mine to write and publish a book which someone will ban.