This course looks at how magical realism reflects Latin America reality. We will focus on the analysis of García Márquez’ Hundred Years of Solitude; Mario Vargas Llosa’s The Feast of the Goat; and Isabel Allende’s The House of the Spirits.
Each of these novels provides a different lens into the realities and complexities of Latin American history, often blurring the lines between the fantastical and the real. When Allende argues that García Márquez 'told the world about us, Latin Americans, and told us who we are. In his pages, we saw ourselves in a mirror', she was reflecting on how his writing gave voice to the complexities and contradictions of the continent – a place where the magical and the real coexist seamlessly.
As we walk through the streets of Lima, Bogota, Santiago or any Latin American city or pueblo, these authors guide you through a landscape that is both strange and familiar – where history, politics and myth are inseparable. The stark realities of dictatorships, revolutions and foreign exploitation collide with the mystical elements of indigenous traditions and spiritual beliefs, creating a reality that might seem surreal to outsiders but is commonplace for those who live there.
Here's a guide to walking the streets of Latin America through these iconic works.
This course is part of The Oxford Experience summer school, held at Christ Church.