Books
Book review: Two Nigerian girls come of age in Dazzling’s overreaching jumble of real and otherworldly experiences
British/Nigerian author Chikodili Emelumadu’s debut magic realist novel weaves a vague and uneven tapestry whose threads the reader must work hard to pick up and decode
Magical realism is most often associated with Latin American literature. It’s also been an effective tool for writers of many backgrounds, in particular those from countries with a colonial legacy. The discombobulating, sometimes folkloric element in an otherwise realist setting can be effective in expressing the unsayable, or in capturing the uncanny experience of a world whose multiple facets don’t quite make sense together.
Such is the function of magic realism in Chikodili Emelumadu’s debut ...
