Let Them Float: In Praise of Magical Realism by Katy Wimhurst
Let Them Float: In Praise of Magical Realism
Katy Wimhurst
Leone Ross, author of the acclaimed magical realist novel This One Sky Day (2021), once said, Explain to me why it has become acceptable to shit on magical realism. A good question. Some literary people do look down on the genre, even though there has been a resurgence of magical realism in short stories recently, as I discuss in an 2019 essay here.
I love how vital and entertaining this genre can be. Magical realist stories – magical events appearing in otherwise realist narratives – appeal partly because they are fun. Who doesn’t enjoy women buying coin-operated boys (Kirsty Logan) or a cup of tea falling out of a window and landing perfectly on the street, without spilling a drop (Rebecca Lloyd)? Magical realism has a playful side, a lack of inhibition about what might occur in any story. The plot can move in unexpected directions or use colourful imagery – people who turn into birds, women who float above a park. The unusual imagery isn’t just fun, though; it offers a complex way to explore fictional themes or characters. As Canadian author Gail Anderson Dagartz said in an interview with me, ‘In terms of craft, it’s very useful to pull from the magic realism toolbox. Instead of waxing on about how a secret haunts a family, just drop in the ghost of the old bastard so they are literally haunted.’
As well as playful, magical realism is often engaged politically. It accepts that reality is up for grabs, questions what is true (elevating the non-real to the status of the real), and amplifies the viewpoint of marginalised or silenced groups. In Magical Realism and the Post Colonial novel, Christopher Warnes (2009) explains there are two types of magical realism – faith-based and irreverent. The former kind incorporates more mythic elements, often in an attempt to revive non-western forms of knowledge – eg Guatemalan Miguel Angel Asturias’s (1949) Men of Maize draws on Mayan myths. The irreverent version (e.g. Angela Carter) is more knowing, challenging dominant perspectives and telling stories – even self-consciously ‘tall stories’ – from the viewpoint of those marginalised: women, minorities, migrants, the sick and disabled.
In my new short story book, Let Them Float, I use a playful magical realist (and occasionally a surrealist) lens to touch on mental and physical illness. A few stories simply feature a disabled character, but most stories address the subject of mental or physical disability. In the title piece, women overwhelmed by their lives float above the park. The floating is obviously preposterous—I wanted to inject some surreal humour and whimsy in a serious subject. It affects individuals who struggle in their daily lives and relationships, but the spectacle also serves to highlight ableist attitudes in onlookers, from the bigotry and scorn of two male characters to the patronising approach of the psychiatrist.
In ‘Gardening with the Messiah’, it’s unclear if a Messiah helps a grieving widow to deadhead flowers or if the story is a quiet portrait of dementia. In ‘Duskers’, a young, fit woman develops an M.E. or long-covid type illness after a flu and subsequently becomes transparent. Given how often metaphors have been used negatively to represent disability (e.g. in Disney films, for instance), some writers are legitimately wary of using them, but I think magical realism is useful as it offers complex symbolism. The transparency in ‘Duskers’ symbolises literally how chronically sick people end up invisible to friends or loved ones—a lack of understanding and abandonment are common, even by spouses or partners; and it simultaneously highlights how, when sick, we feel part of our body but not all part of it, all at once.
—
Katy Wimhurst’s first collection of short stories was Snapshots of the Apocalypse (Fly on the Wall Press, 2022) and her second collection Let Them Float is published in late 2023 (Alien Buddha Press). Her fiction has been published in numerous magazines and anthologies including The Guardian, Writers’ Forum, Cafe Irreal, and ShooterLit. Her first book of visual poems, Fifty-One Trillion Bits, was published by Trickhouse Press (2023). She interviews writers for 3AM Magazine. She blogs at https://whimsylph.wordpress.
LET THEM FLOAT
In these short stories, Katy Wimhurst creates off-kilter worlds that illuminate our own. Apocalyptic rabbits invade a town. People overwhelmed by their lives float above an urban park. A woman turns transparent after a virus. The playful lens of magical realism is used to explore physical and mental illness and our fragile environment. Thought-provoking fiction with a good dose of whimsy.
‘Katy Wimhurst’s stories are enchanting. They appear beguilingly simple yet contain layers of meaning and mystery. The author’s inventive interpretations of familiar situations give any reader fresh insights into their own experiences. Even with dark subjects, there are always sparks of hope and humour.’
-Dorothy Schwartz, author of Behind a Glass Wall.
‘Katy Wimhurst combines charming whimsy with weighty environmental and psychological issues and, in the balance, she delights and surprises the reader. Rich imagination and fresh, clean writing.’
-Petra McQueen, founder of The Writers Company.
BUY HERE
Category: On Writing
Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
