I'm not talking Harry Potter magic, either. I mean, when you read a story - seemingly normal, and then the author throws in a little bit of magic, do you believe it?
It's easy to believe magical things will happen in a magical place. For instance, we easily believe a ring found under a mountain can prolong the life of a hobbit in Middle Earth and also destroy the entire world. But what if a woman finds a ring under her bed in Muncie, IN? Would we believe it could destroy the known world?
I love to believe in supernatural stories. It's like a ride the author takes me on, painting the backdrop for amazing, irregular things to happen. But have you ever read a story where it just didn't work?
What if the setting is contemporary, the people are all normal, but "out of this world" stuff begins to happen and the author provides no reason at all? What is your threshold for believability?
I happen to believe that if the author makes me believe it, he's done a great job. It's when the "seams" of a story become noticeable that I stop believing. An author who decides to dump a magical or mystical element into the story to make it work is using magic as a crutch and nine times out of ten, it will not work. But when an author writes a story so believably that it doesn't matter how realistic things are, beautiful things happen.
One such story is The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen. She tells an intriguing story about interesting people I care about. I believe the story. But then she weaves in this subtle, magical thread and while I know it's not possible, I love it. I eagerly follow this part of the story and it brings me joy because I wish it were possible in my own life.
It's a quirky novel (I just love them!) and I'm not sure it's overly well-known, but it's worth the read. A light-hearted and serious story, not too deep, but providing quality characters I'm still thinking of two weeks after I read the last page.
Check out The Sugar Queen and tell me, did you believe the magic?
It's easy to believe magical things will happen in a magical place. For instance, we easily believe a ring found under a mountain can prolong the life of a hobbit in Middle Earth and also destroy the entire world. But what if a woman finds a ring under her bed in Muncie, IN? Would we believe it could destroy the known world?
I love to believe in supernatural stories. It's like a ride the author takes me on, painting the backdrop for amazing, irregular things to happen. But have you ever read a story where it just didn't work?
What if the setting is contemporary, the people are all normal, but "out of this world" stuff begins to happen and the author provides no reason at all? What is your threshold for believability?
I happen to believe that if the author makes me believe it, he's done a great job. It's when the "seams" of a story become noticeable that I stop believing. An author who decides to dump a magical or mystical element into the story to make it work is using magic as a crutch and nine times out of ten, it will not work. But when an author writes a story so believably that it doesn't matter how realistic things are, beautiful things happen.
One such story is The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen. She tells an intriguing story about interesting people I care about. I believe the story. But then she weaves in this subtle, magical thread and while I know it's not possible, I love it. I eagerly follow this part of the story and it brings me joy because I wish it were possible in my own life.
It's a quirky novel (I just love them!) and I'm not sure it's overly well-known, but it's worth the read. A light-hearted and serious story, not too deep, but providing quality characters I'm still thinking of two weeks after I read the last page.
Check out The Sugar Queen and tell me, did you believe the magic?
Sounds intriguing! I'll have to check it out!
ReplyDeleteIf you like magic realism... I'm hearing lots of buzz about "The Night Circus", a new release by Erin Mergenstern (not sure I spelled that right). It sounds SO good. Definitely quirky. And apparently very beautiful as well. :)
I've seen The NIght Circus in the store - will check it out!
ReplyDeleteBest book series I ever read had a time-warp feature in it. I totally believed every word (despite knowing there was no such thing).
ReplyDelete