Defining Magic Realism with Through the Arc of the Rain Forest

            One of the reasons why I took to Through the Arc of the Rain Forest so quickly is that I’ve been a huge fan of the Magic Realism genre.  The blurring of the lines between rational and the fantastical always struck me as one of the most jarring and engrossing forms of literature.  To this day, the collection of Gabriel Garcia Marquez short stories I found in my freshman year of high-school is the book I most often go back to.

            So, one of the things I always found difficult was trying to pin down precisely what Magic Realism was.  It sounds like a simple question, but the very nature of the genre makes a definition elusive.  It’s hard to specify what does and does not fit into a literary style that focuses on blurring the borders that typically stand up between genres; how much fantasy is required?  How much is too much?  Is there even a divide?  Novelist Terry Prachet once went as far as saying magic realism “is like a polite way of saying to write fantasy.”

            I bring all this up because I believe that Through the Arc of the Rain Forest goes a long way towards clarifying this chaos.  It embodies most of the unique characteristics that make Magical Realism stand out on its own as a genre.  First of all, the fantastical elements aren’t merely there; they’re included for precise reasons.  They represent deeper meaning about the world that the characters inhabit, as well as more abstract concepts like nature and industry.

            But more importantly is the way these fantastical elements are perceived by the characters within the story.  A solely fantasy story, for example, most likely would have introduced the ball around Kazumasa with little attention.  Instead, Arc specifically points out that something is out of the ordinary; the mother makes specific not that “she did not want her son made into a national phenomenon, a guinea pig for experiments”.  (5)  This may seem minor, but it means a great deal in establishing that this is a world where strange things are accepted, but not expected.

            This may all seems pointless, but I like to think there is a clear reason for it.  Magic Realism is a somewhat obscure genre, and even those that know it usually find it difficult to define.  But it’s also one of the most uniquely rewarding; as Through the Arc of the Rain Forest shows up, they can offer some of the most engaging literature that still holds powerful meaning.  Because of this, it’s worthwhile to be able to specify Magic Realism so it’s not swallowed up by another genre.  And Through the Arc of the Rain Forest is a perfect Guideline for doing so.

An interview with Karen Yamashita gave to the University of Caifornia