Writers of magical realism combine elements from two genres that are very popular with readers—fantasy and realistic fiction. These kinds of stories are likely to fill many shelves in any bookstore or library. Fantasy novels include series like Harry Potter and Twilight while realistic fiction can claim classics like The Outsiders as well as more recent hits like The Fault in Our Stars and The Hate U Give. For magical realism to work, it has to meet some of a reader’s expectations for both genres, and it has to do that well.

An important point to remember about magical realism is the different role that magical elements play, compared to those same elements in a fantasy story. In fact, a great way to understand magical realism is to compare and contrast it to fantasy as a genre. Use the images on each tab to compare the elements of the two. On each tab, guess which image represents magical realism and which ones represents fantasy. Then click each image to see if your guess was correct.

Setting Purpose Effect

Fantasy

Fantasy stories occur in a world that is full of fantastical elements, including magical creatures, characters, and objects.

Magical Realism

Magical realism stories occur in a normal world and include just a few magical elements.

Fantasy

Fantasy writers aim to create a magical world where magic is normal and expected.

Magical Realism

Magical realism writers aim to create an ordinary, normal world in which a few magical elements take on special meaning.

Fantasy

Readers of fantasy stories expect to see magic at work, so the magical elements don’t seem unusual or especially important.

Magical Realism

Since magical realism creates a realistic and believable world, the magical elements often take the reader by surprise and create a sense of mystery and suspense.

How well do you understand the difference between the two genres? See if you can identify the genre that matches each description.