MAGICAL REALISM AS A GENRE AND ARTISTIC MODEL

Abstract

This article examines magical realism not only as a specific literary genre but as a broader, flexible artistic model that has transcended its Latin American origins to become one of the most significant narrative strategies of contemporary world literature. The study traces the historical development of magical realism from its emergence in European visual arts through its flourishing in Latin America to its adaptation in postcolonial, post-Soviet, and Central Asian literatures. Drawing upon key theoretical contributions by Franz Roh, Alejo Carpentier, and Wendy B. Faris, the paper analyzes the core structural, aesthetic, and philosophical principles of magical realism, including the seamless integration of the miraculous into everyday reality, the disruption of linear time and space, and the fusion of myth, folklore, and history. Special emphasis is placed on how this model functions as an effective tool for expressing cultural trauma, hybrid identities, collective memory, and alternative ontologies in non-Western literary contexts. Through comparative analysis, the research demonstrates that magical realism continues to evolve as a dynamic transcultural artistic model rather than remaining a fixed genre with rigid boundaries. The findings highlight its unique capacity to bridge the rational and the irrational, the local and the universal