Re: RARA-AVIS: Reality: still a questionable concept

Mario Taboada (matrxtech@sprintmail.com)
Wed, 05 Aug 1998 10:56:42 -0500 Kevin:

<<Poor Ned...running the lotto with Mario by night, and hurling
spitballs by day...>>

Kevin, I volunteered Ned, not myself. I myself keep a distance from our
Volunteer Fire Department. As a matter of fact, I've had an uneasy
relationship with their leadership for some time.

Now to magical realism: the point is that events that don't make sense
or are impossible or "supernatural" are inserted in the story as if they
were normal. Juan Rulfo has an entire town consisting of dead people,
who behave more or less as normal folk. Garc=EDa M=E1rquez has a battered
and senile angel appear on the beach, and the good samaritans in the
town put him up in a chicken coop. He eventually lears to fly. The tone
of these stories is realistic, even a bit clinical and detached. Since I
mentioned the great Luigi Pirandello, some of his short stories have a
similar flavor and casual treatment of what are very bizarre (sometimes
insane) characters and situations. I see an affinity with Willeford's
technique and point of view, despite the difference in themes.

You mention Paco Taibo: perhaps we should consider him for a future
reading. The two novels I have are the originals in Spanish; I was very
favorably impressed. Has he been translated? I haven't seen his novels
in bookstores.

Regards,

MT
#
# To unsubscribe, say "unsubscribe rara-avis" to majordomo@icomm.ca.
# The web pages for the list are at http://www.vex.net/~buff/rara-avis/.