Magical Realist Fiction: An Anthology

Take a look at ""Jose Builds a Woman" for a modern example of an incredible magical realism novel.

This anthology is an excellent collection of Fantastic readings. Like all anthologies choices can be questioned: "How could David Young leave this out while including that?" But there is a large enough sampling collected to give anyone interested in Magical Realism his or her fill. I would venture to say that this "one book" would satisfy a marooned bibliophile for quite some time. My favorites are Vladimir Nabokov's THE VISIT TO THE MUSEUM and Julio Cortazar's AXOLOTL, but the rest of the canon includes other literary giants, making this a collection to return to often. It would be a great text for a grad seminar on Fantastic Literature. Highly recommended.

David Young was a professor of mine at Oberlin College (he is still there), and he proved that he is as sensitive an editor as he was a teacher. This book is especially illuminating in that it begins with selections that can be considered precursors to magical realist fiction. This provides a comprehensive view of the evolution of this genre, which enriches the reading of the stories included later in this volume.