Forum: Author Hangout

Isn't this another name for "magic realism"? What would be curio fiction, but not magic realism?

From the OP:

Has a "curio" -- a magical or scientific element

There's a couple of differences as I understand it.
1. The curio can be extremely advanced tech rather than magic.
2. Where the curio is magic, The story world has a singular magical element, rather than broadly done "realistic" magic.

I think that's an irrelevant distinction.

By definition, a scientific element has to be real. If it's not real and currently known, it's not science, it's conjecture at best. This why science fiction, ultimately, is described as a subgenre of fantasy not the other way around. Warp drives are a magical device described using pseudo-science terminology.

If something is consistent with current scientific principles it may eventually be proven and become good science, but that doesn't mean that the SF novel which invented it is not fantasy. Jules Verne was not the first author to describe a rocket to the moon, but what he was describing was just realistic sounding fantasy.

Any "extremely advanced tech" in science fiction is just magic with a technical explanation instead of a supernatural one, but it's no less a magical artefact because of it.

Magic realism typically has only one magical element, very much like those described by the OP.

Here's what Ms. Callahan says:

Magical realism as a genre label is typically reserved for works about postcolonialism, particularly those by Latin American authors. Keystones of the genre include One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez, Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie, and Beloved by Toni Morrison, all of which tackle the complicated aftermath of white colonization. For this reason, some literary critics question or take issue with the use of magical realism as a label for general fiction that blurs the line between fantasy and reality.

However, because readers don't have a more fitting term for this genre combination, books like The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender are often categorized as magical realism. In that novel, the main character can taste the emotions of others from the foods they make, but since it doesn't explore a postcolonial cultural context, and magic is treated as surprising rather than unremarkable, this novel would not, historically speaking, belong in the magical realism category.

I did leave out of my shortened description that curio fiction treats the magical or scientific "curio" as surprising rather than taking it for granted. She also distinguishes curio fiction from other categories in her article and video.

This author believes that the focus AWAY from the curio and ON the interpersonal (e.g., romance) or societal effects distinguishes curio fiction from magical realism.

Thanks. I did not think about it that way. So curio fiction is like magic realism without the baggage of colonialism

Great point, AJ, and Ms. Callahan agrees with you. Her response is below. As I understand it, apparently she feels this term has become used for worlds with broadly impactful magic systems, but just not emphasized in the story, especially if it is a fully or mostly human story. She also thinks it has taken on judgmental connotations.

Low Fantasy

Low fantasy is a fair descriptor for stories featuring speculative touches rather than fully immersive worlds, where everything from the geography to the culture is impacted by the fantastical elements. However, this label has become a broad moniker. Sometimes full-on secondary-world fantasy like A Song of Ice and Fire is listed as low fantasy because of the lessened emphasis on magic and nonhuman characters. That just further muddles the definition of low fantasy as a useful term for readers and critics.

There's also a value judgment in the term low fantasy, although Wikipedia claims the word low refers to "the prominence of traditional fantasy elements within the work and is not a remark on the work's overall quality." It still creates an implied hierarchy of low/high or soft/hard world-building, with high fantasy and hard sci-fi sometimes being viewed as more intellectually rigorous.

Paladin, that's an interesting question and, as far as I can tell, one that neither Ms. Callahan nor any other writer who has reflected on her suggestion has considered. So, I guess it's up to us to do the first thinking about this!

A MacGuffin is generally an object, or maybe a person, that serves as an object of desire or motivation for characters. It's a catalyst for the story. (See, here.) So, maybe a MacGuffin could drive a curio story, but then again, it could be part of a story that wouldn't fit the curio format.

For example, assume a "mind control ring" -- a plot device for a lot of sex stories. If the ring just falls into the protagonist's hands, he or she doesn't think much about it and doesn't get wrapped up in trying to discover it's origin or figure out how it works, but rather just uses it to help obtain a life they want, then that would be a curio story, I think. The world is a little "off," the protagonist would be surprised by the device and have to decide how to use it, but the focus would be on the goals and choices of the protagonist and the reactions of surrounding characters.

On the other hand, if the "mind control ring" became the object of an international frenzy with governments, corporations, and crime syndicates chasing the protagonist who is just trying to get away and carry on his relationship with his girlfriend without using the MCR, then the MCR would be a MacGuffin but the story might not be a curio. It would be a science fiction adventure.

However, it's also possible to have a curio story without a MacGuffin. For example, I wouldn't count the premise of the Naked in School stories as a MacGuffin, but I would see those stories as usually being Curio stories. The very best of them simply accept the "slightly off" nature of the program, but then go on to explore relationships, character growth, etc. However the focus of the story isn't the program (in most), but the effects on relationships. Several of the ones I like best are out-and-out romances.

So, I'd say a MacGuffin could create a curio story, but could also drive stories that wouldn't fit the curio criteria. But there could also be curio stories without a MacGuffin.

Does that make sense?

Ms. Callahan uses Pulp Fiction as an example.

What is your second reference?