What is that?
| I’ve wondered where on the shelf my novel would land and have started researching different genres, including Magical Realism. But if you search Christian Fiction YA Magical Realism, there’s not a lot to discover. Speculative fiction garners a lot of attention these days, and honestly, that may be where my novel lands. But let’s just take a moment to explore Magical Realism. Magical realism is a genre of literature that depicts the real world as having an undercurrent of magic or fantasy. Magical realism is a part of the realism genre of fiction. Within a work of magical realism, the world is still grounded in the real world, but fantastical elements are considered normal in this world. Like fairy tales, magical realism novels and short stories blur the line between fantasy and reality. (read more here) Now that you’ve heard the definition, will you give me a moment to stretch your comfort zone? Because I’m about to propose something that may cause you to say, “Wait a minute. Let’s not get heretical.” |
Here goes nothing…
What if magical realism is God’s way of drawing attention to Himself? What if the blurry line between fantasy and reality is the Holy Spirit? You’ve got to admit, believing in the Holy Spirit’s a little funky, right? Throw in Satan and his team of demons and things get even crazier. The reality is – we have a very real enemy who doesn’t want us to succeed. He will do anything to destroy us.
In fact, 1 Peter 5:8 says – “Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour.” (NLT)
Satan makes the fairytale world seem mild, don’t you think? We know that God uses all forms of creativity to draw people to Himself, so why not a literary genre? One that already blurs the lines and sets people up to believe the unbelievable?And just maybe, it gives us the ability to break through a structured life and enter into conversations about a loving God and a very real enemy.
What do you think? Hit reply and let me know!
*Originally emailed to newsletter subscribers November 2022
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