Magical Realism in Ken Liu’s Short Stories

Abstract

Contemporary fiction has incorporated magical realism, which is seen as an aesthetic category with a literary entry into the epistemological insight that governs our outlook. It is the depiction of the real and magical worlds using true incidents, unreducible materials, contrasting ideas of time and space, as well as myths exclusive to a particular cultural group. This study applies Magical Realism Narration Techniques, described by W. B. Faris, to three short stories: i.e., “The Paper Menagerie”, “The Literomancer” and “Good Hunting” by Ken Liu.  The study examines how these strategies are used by Ken Liu to convey various themes in his short stories. According to research, W.B. Faris’ framework for magical realism narration is useful for analyzing the genre. Prejudice and colonialism are common themes in Ken Liu’s writing.  Moreover, he tries to evoke magic out of cultural elements and traditional characters which provokes reader’s interest in the rich culture of Chinese people and develops the stories interest.

      Keywords:  magical realism; short story; Ken Liu; history; culture