Magical Realism
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Magical realism is a genre of fiction that incorporates a fantastic element into otherwise realistic fiction. After reading two books by Rebecca Serle, I see the charm of this genre.
I have already reviewed In Five Years where a woman named Dannie gets engaged to a guy named David and falls asleep after having too much celebratory champagne only to wake up five years into the future married to someone else! Was it a crazy dream? Because just as quickly, she sleeps and wakes again where she finds herself back with David.
Now I have read One Italian Summer. In it, a young woman and her mother – two women who have a very close relationship – were supposed to travel to a place in Italy that was beloved by the mom. When the mom dies, the daughter takes the trip alone and in so doing, meets her mother as a young woman.
At the end of One Italian Summer, there were sample pages for Rebecca Serle’s next novel, Expiration Dates. Evidently it is the same genre. In this novel, a woman who is single, but searching for love, magically receives notes when she has met a new guy. These little pieces of paper foretell how long she will be with the new prospect. As the book opens, the latest date comes without an expiration date.
Each premise is intriguing to me. I gobbled up In Five Years! In One Italian Summer, I yearned for a similar experience. My mom died in 2002 and there is so much I want to know about her that I would love to meet up with her at any age! Age 30 would be terrific as she would be pregnant with me! And as a person who has been single for the last twenty years, any bit of magic in dating would be exciting. Translation: I like these books! I like magical realism.
In an interview in Today dot com, Rebecca Serle is asked when she stops the magic and starts focusing on the story instead. Here is her response: “The answer is to stop immediately. The only magic is in the concept. This one hour in the future, mom at 30, or these slips of paper. There are no mechanics. There is no explanation. There is no figuring out the logistics. It’s the introduction of it, the acceptance of it, and now we’re in the story.”
Frankly, I’m willing to accept it all and allow the author to grab me by the collar and drag me into her story. These books are lots of fun!
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Click here to learn more about One Italian Summer on Amazon.
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