kt literary » magical realism http://ktliterary.com not as pretentious as the header image suggests, but just as awesome Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:55:14 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 Recent Read http://ktliterary.com/2009/05/recent-read-2/ http://ktliterary.com/2009/05/recent-read-2/#comments Fri, 01 May 2009 18:17:23 +0000 Kate http://ktliterary.com/?p=1688 warfortheoaksI sat at our table at our bowling league last night, eager to get back to my book. Almost as soon as Rexroth and I got home, I settled into our favorite reading chair and devoured the rest of War For the Oaks by Emma Bull. This is, by all accounts, the novel that defined the term “urban fantasy”. And wow. It’s just — utterly compelling. If you like Tithe by Holly Black or Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr, I highly, Highly, HIGHLY recommend you grab a copy of War For the Oaks. In fact, I’m indebted to Melissa’s editor Anne for suggesting I pick this up. It seemed a no brainer, since I’d already enjoyed Emma’s book with Steven Brust, Freedom & Necessity, as well as Finder, another one of her urban fantasies. But this was new (to me), and exciting, and oh, so good!

I’m off to go see how many more of her other books I can get my hands on.

]]> http://ktliterary.com/2009/05/recent-read-2/feed/ 3 Magically Real http://ktliterary.com/2008/01/magically-real/ http://ktliterary.com/2008/01/magically-real/#comments Fri, 11 Jan 2008 04:07:27 +0000 Kate http://ktliterary.com/wp/2008/01/magically-real/ My very significant Significant Other Rexroth Implausible earlier sent me a definition of Magical Realism that reads, in part:
Magical realism differs from pure fantasy primarily because it is set in a normal, modern world with authentic descriptions of humans and society and involves the amalgamation of the real and the fantastic.

I’ve long been a fan of fantasy, since back before I had my first pair of heels, and read The Hero and The Crown, the Dragonlance Chronicles, and The Hobbit, among others. Lately though, my preference for fantasy is more urban than high. As the definition above makes clear, this kind of fantasy blends reality with some sense of the mystical, the magical. It’s common in some great fiction, but also in films. The one that comes to mind is The Prestige, magical not just because of Hugh Jackman’s presence in it (yummy!), but also for the denouement. I don’t want to give anything away if any of you haven’t seen the movie yet, but obliquely, what I love about the explanation of the film, of the magic… is that it’s magic.
I love finding that feeling in a manuscript, and that love is one of the reasons I’m so excited that Alyson Noel’s new book is a paranormal. With the same ease she’s shown in mixing Art Geeks with Prom Queens, she mixes the real and the fantastic. I look forward to telling you more about it soon!
What are some of your favorite magical realism books or movies?

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