Magical Realism and Deleuze: The Indiscernibility of Difference in Postcolonial Literature PDF
Preview Magical Realism and Deleuze: The Indiscernibility of Difference in Postcolonial Literature
Magical Realism and Deleuze Continuum Literary Studies Series Also available in the series: Active Reading by Ben Knights and Chris Thurgar-Dawson Beckett’s Books by Matthew Feldman Beckett and Phenomenology edited by Matthew Feldman and Ulrika Maude Beckett and Decay by Katherine White Beckett and Death edited by Steve Barfi eld, Matthew Feldman and Philip Tew British Fiction in the Sixties by Sebastian Groes Canonizing Hypertext by Astrid Ensslin Character and Satire in Postwar Fiction by Ian Gregson Coleridge and German Philosophy by Paul Hamilton Contemporary Fiction and Christianity by Andrew Tate Crime Culture edited by Bran Nicol, Eugene McNulty and Patricia Pulham English Fiction in the 1930s by Chris Hopkins Ecstasy and Understanding edited by Adrian Grafe Fictions of Globalization by James Annesley Imagination of Evil by Mary Evans Joyce and Company by David Pierce London Narratives by Lawrence Phillips Masculinity in Fiction and Film by Brian Baker Modernism and the Post-colonial by Peter Childs Milton, Evil and Literary History by Claire Colebrook Novels of the Contemporary Extreme edited by Alain-Phillipe Durand and Naomi Mandel Postmodern Fiction and the Break-Up of Fiction by Hywel Dix Seeking Meaning for Goethe’s Faust by J. M. van der Laan Sexuality and the Erotic in the Fiction of Joseph Conrad by Jeremy Hawthorn Such Deliberate Disguises: The Art of Phillip Larkin by Richard Palmer The Palimpsest by Sarah Dillon The Measureless Past of Joyce, Deleuze and Derrida by Ruben Borg Women’s Fiction 1945–2000 by Deborah Philips Magical Realism and Deleuze The Indiscernibility of Difference in Postcolonial Literature Eva Aldea Continuum Literary Studies Continuum International Publishing Group The Tower Building 80 Maiden Lane 11 York Road Suite 704 London, SE1 7NX New York, NY 10038 www.continuumbooks.com © Eva Aldea, 2011 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. Eva Aldea has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identifi ed as Author of this work. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN: 978-1-4411-0998-9 (hardcover) Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Aldea, Eva. Magical realism and Deleuze : the indiscernibility of difference in postcolonial literature / Eva Aldea. p. cm. -- (Continuum literary studies) Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-1-4411-0998-9 (hardcover) 1. Magic realism (Literature) 2. Fiction--20th century--History and criticism. 3. Commonwealth fi ction (English)--History and criticism. 4. Postcolonialism in literature. 5. Deleuze, Gilles, 1925–1995--Criticism and interpretation. 6. Deleuze, Gilles, 1925-1995--Knowledge--Literature. 7. Literature--Philosophy. I. Title. II. Series. PN56.M24A63 2011 809'.915--dc22 2010015193 Typeset by Newgen Imaging Systems Pvt Ltd, Chennai, India Printed and bound in Great Britain by the MPG Books Group For Marcus This page intentionally left blank Contents Preface ix List of Abbreviations x Chapter 1 Introduction: Magical Realism 1 Chapter 2 Gilles Deleuze and Magical Realism 19 Chapter 3 Models of Magical Realism 41 Chapter 4 Magical Realism and the Signs of Art 73 Chapter 5 Deleuze and the Postcolonial Politics of Magical Realism 103 Chapter 6 Conclusion 146 Notes 150 Bibliography 163 Index 181 This page intentionally left blank Preface Since being introduced to magical realism through the short stories of Julio Cortázar, many years ago, I have always wanted to know why magical realism has been so fascinating and tantalizing a genre for me and so many other readers. What exactly is it that makes the appearance of the unusual, strange and super- natural so alluring when it is described in that deadpan, matter-of-fact voice we have all become so familiar with since the Latin American literary boom reached the Anglo-Saxon readership in the 70s? I never found a thoroughly satisfactory answer. Any defi nitions and descriptions of the genre seemed to me never quite to get to the bottom of how the interaction between the real and the magic in magical realist novels and stories actually functions. I mean ‘functions’ in the way a car or train functions – I wanted to know what drives the fantastic yet thoroughly familiar engine of magical realism. There was nothing for it but to investigate the matter myself. Having come across the idea of the machinic assemblage in Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari’s work, an early project looking at Cortázar’s stories as such little literary machines yielded some results. It also pointed to the fact that Deleuze could provide the thoroughly different approach to magical realism that I was looking for, partly as a philosopher that could take me back to basics – What is the real? What is the magic? – partly because of his insistence that the all that is is in the same way, yet is different. This challenge to hierarchies of being seemed to me to chime true with the main motion of the magical realist machine. This book is the fi nal result of a long process of research but also of thought, the importance of which my guide throughout would never let me forget. I am very grateful to Andrew Gibson for his long and continued support for, belief in and acute criticism of my work. I would also like to thank my parents for their never failing belief in the ultimate fruition of my work, and my friends and colleagues for their input, patience and support. Finally, a special thank you to Marcus Cheadle, without whom this book would never have been written.
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