The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms has this short definition of magic realism (sometimes called magical realism). If you want a longer definition, there is a good article in the Encyclopedia of the Novel ( Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn, 1998) which includes lots and lots of suggestions of other magic realism novels you could try. There is no online version of this subject encyclopedia, but we have the print version in the reference section on the 2nd floor at call number PN41 .E53 1998x.

Here are a few of the many books our library has on magic realism that you could check out. You can look at the ALICE record for each to see if another of your fellow students has already checked it out. (If they have, remember that you can also try getting a copy through OhioLINK. Ask a reference librarian if you need help doing this.) Also, always remember that you can find many more books on this subject by doing an ALICE keyword search for magic realism.

• Hart, Stephen M. and Wen-chin Ouyang, eds. A Companion to Magical Realism. Rochester, N.Y.: Tamesis, 2005. (link to ALICE record)
• Faris, Wendy B. Ordinary Enchantments: Magical Realism and the Remystification of Narrative. Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press, 2004. (link to ALICE record)
• Cooper, Brenda C. Magical Realism in West African Fiction: Seeing With a Third Eye. New York: Routledge, 1998. (link to ALICE record) (We also have an e-book version of this title available here.)

Through Academic Search Complete and our other article databases, you can find thousands of articles on magic realism. For example, here is an article that deals with magic realism by other South African writers:

• Chait, Sandra. “Mythology, Magic Realism, and White Writing after Apartheid.” Research in African Literatures 31.2 (Summer 2000): 17-28. (link to this article in Academic Search Complete)