What Is Magical Realism?
Вставка
- Опубліковано 22 сер 2024
- After reading a handful of Magical Realism books here are my conclusions!
My book reviews of Magical Realism books:
The House of the Spirits: • The House of the Spiri...
The Wind Up Bird Chronicle: • Video
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender: • Video
I Crawl Through It: • Video
Everybody Sees the Ants: • Video
Twitter: #!...
Goodreads: / arielbissett
Tumblr: / arielbissett
Support me on Patreon! / arielbissett
Want to buy a book? Go through this link and I'll get a commission! www.bookdeposit...
Music by: CJ Bissett (cjbissett.bandc...)
Thumbnails by: Greg White (gregory-white.c...)
I am a PhD in English literature specializing in Latin American literature, and I am currently teaching a class on magical realism. I am also figuring out my way through the genre as I teach, but I can give you some guideposts for what it is. First, magical realism is not beyond the realm of possibility for the point of view from which it is being written. In other words, it is often based in traditions, practices, and beliefs that are typical for the culture from which it is being produced--although it takes those traditions, practices, and beliefs and levels them up into the extraordinary, aka the magical. However, what I think really distinguishes magical realism from other genres are the particular themes that get explored in these books. Magical realism often deals with topics of trauma, loss, and/or alienation because it ultimately serves as a form of social commentary. Consequently, magical realism pretty much always aims to say something true about the world through the extraordinary.
Thank you!! Can you please recommend some latin American literature for beginners? I’d be so thankful :)
You NEED to read One Hundred Years of Solitude to understand what really is magical realism! another great book is Like Water for Chocolate, if you can read it in Spanish even better they're both amazing books
+Karina Gutierrez Yes :) I haven't read One hundred years of solitude yet, but I know it's really good. I did read Like Water for Chocolate and I loved it
+Karina Gutierrez That's why I'm here i need to do a project about it
i love those books!!!
One of my favorite books!!! but as one of my guilty pleasures, I have to say that I prefer "La increible y triste historia de candida herendira y su desalmada abuela" also by GGM!
She did such a shitty job in this analisys stating "he style has no starting point
Ariel, I'm a HUGE fan of this part of your channel where you're more critical and technical towards literature, trying to understand genres and how they work, LOVE IT!
I would say that Magical Realism isn't taking place in our world but like a parallel universe or alternate reality where there are SLIGHT changes.
I definitely think it should be noted that typically with magical realism, the narrator/protag is the one normalizing the magic. Or in any case, the fantasy element/s aren't plot points, rather imagery, metaphor, devices to push a theme across, rather than an actual rising or falling action. It is an effect rather than a cause.
For instance, really simple example. But say there's a guy named Tony. Tony is dumped by his fiance and is real sad about it. Due to his heartbreak, Tony transforms into a bird to fly away from his problems. That I would consider magical realism because it's an effect to illustrate a theme. However, if Tony woke up one day as a bird and thus was dumped because his fiance was like "What the hell? Why are you a bird?" and he has to spend the rest of the book as a shapeshifter, trying to find his place in the world, I'd say that's fantasy. Because it is action/cause of action.
Similarly, though many characterize it as such, I have a hard time seeing Every Heart a Doorway as magical realism. The world doesn't normalize these kids' experiences. And the fantasy element is the center of every event and is the motive for every character to act. It's certainly a very gentle urban fantasy read where their isn't magic thrown in your face. But I find it a little to... overt to be considered magical realism.
Brittany Rees is the book neverwhere magical realism or urban fantasy?
That's actually one of the few Gaimans I haven't read so I couldn't tell you. Though most other works by him I have read are fantasy, I would guess it's fantasy as well. But that would be a total guess.
+Brittany Rees So Franz Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" is urban fantasy for you?
Yea, how about Metamorphosis...
@@tarvoc746 In "The Metamorphosis" the characters get scared at first. In magical realism, the characters do not react to the absurd. This is a political critique of the situation in Latin America where absurd things happen every day but everyone is already used to the absurd.
Magical Realism is my favorite genre and I'm from South America... I've read many definitions for this genre, and they're all quite vague (which is funny considering that the genre itself is vague and weird, as you said). But there's something that I've read many times that draw the line between fantasy and magical realism, and it's quite the opposite of what you said... the magical aspects that appear in magical realism are not normal for the world they live in. For example, in The House of The Spirits we have Clara who has this ability to kinda talk to the dead and has premonitions, but in their world this is not normal, so they decide to hide her 'gift'. I don't know how to explain this, but this magical aspects sort of break normality in their contemporary world, where in fantasy all of the magic and fantasy aspects are normal and they make sense to their world.
+Vivi (Reading Wanderlust) I don't think that Ariel meant to say that the fantastical elements are normal or accepted; I think it was more like they're rare, but not impossible. Like when Tita in Like Water for Chocolate cried into her cake which in turn made Nacha sob uncontrollably after tasting it. Is it normal for feelings to travel through food so strongly? No, but at no point is Nacha like WHAT THE CRAP WHY AM I CRYING THIS IS SO WEIRD. I don't want to speak for Ariel, but in her other reviews of the books mentioned she worded her definition a little differently.
+hello79712 Oh, yeah, I'm just reacting to what she said here. And I agree with you, the magical aspects are rare and not normal to their world (the way they react varies from book to book) , and that's the difference with Fantasy.
YOU NEED TO READ GARCIA MARQUEZ ITS BEAUTIFUL, and if you can read it in spanish even better, it just adds to the enchantment :)
just what I was going to say
+Anne Hdz Exactly what I was thinking!
it's kinda interesting how this whole video didn't even mention 100 years of solitude by garcia marquez, considering the book won pulitzer for fiction and really helped in popularizing magical realism back in the day
You right
Amazing editing work, Ariel! :)
+Paulo Henrique Thank you!! :D
Gabriel García Márquez brought Magical Realism to the surface - much like Darwin brought his theory to the surface in his time; enlightening an already established subject to society. In recent years it has been, in my view, Haruki Murakami who has spearheaded (not exclusively) the style today. (I like to think of the genre, which is actually under an umbrella that shadows a bunch of similar styles as "Abtractual Realism" - my term - in order to differentiate it (isolate) from the batch of styles.))This specific style is by far my favorite. I do not only read it, but my creative writings free flows in its inventive nature. Here is a very brief snippet of one of my personal (Magical/Abstractual Realism) creative works...can you see the genre behind the words? Enjoy:_Her head, like equal halves joined by mirrored opposites, told her manner. One of her eyes, the left one, scoped the room confidently while the right one drooped every so slight. A keen observer, a counselor of all sorts of cognition, would recognize the skewed parallels in her features; each nuance, each shifting of expression; the imbalance.With pupils clouded by years of blindness, Orlando could, by miracle, capture such modes - the sounds of her shifting steps, the cycles of her breathing; how certain vowels were slurred. Orlando knew that her outlet was the creative, a pianists, a writer of romantic poems, a dancer, and that her struggles were in her decisions- the same choices that drove her life of solitude up to that point.(Orlando was, of course, aware that he, being of imperfect flesh, carried his own shades of betrayal.)Foolish self-loathing never took root in his chest, it never had a chance to cast its shadow over the clarity of his world. In that period of his life, where the love of a woman was not yet felt, expressed or slaved over, his heart would cripple him like the disease that blinded his eyes.
This was so informative and I loooved the editing!!
I have needed this video in my life, thank you Ariel. I'm in beginning of writing a novel, but I wasn't sure what the genre of magical realism was at all. Thank you so much.
+Devon R Yay! I'm so glad it helped :D
I am a beginner writer . searching for this video and this helped me a lot . Thanks for sharing this. 👍🏾
Love from India . 🇮🇳
THE EDITING WAS ON POINT! The strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender is so good! I love that book!
Your definition of magical realism was brilliant. Simple, truthful and to the point, yet it can create worlds. Thank you.
The strange and beautiful sorrows of Ava lavender introduced me to magical realism. I completely fell in love with the genre and can't wait to read more like it
I'm reading Everyone Sees the Ants, and I've got to say, magical realism is new-ish to me, and still allusive, but I adore it because of that. Because of its oddity and randomness. Love your explorations Ariel
Hey thanks for making this video! They mention this genre in Jane the Virgin without really explaining what it is (or at least I didn’t understand) so I was curious and found tour video! I added all those books to my want to read list but I will watch your reviews. Great job!
I feel like the Raven Cycle series is a good example of magical realism. It does take place in our world with certain elements of magic happening and nobody really questions it.
Love this filming method with the voice over! It's great you are discovering magical realism, wonderful to hear your explanation of it. Very informative actually
I love how you film now!!!!
I showed your video in my sophomore English class before they read "The Paper Menagerie" by Ken Liu. Thanks for helping me define this genre for my students!
This was a mega super cool video Ariel!! I've really enjoyed this little series ^-^ If you want more magical realism recommendations, The Tiny Wife and Everything We Miss are really short and sweet examples of using magical realism to add whimsy and significance to everyday life which is just a delight to read
I read Galore by Michael Crummey for my Atlantic Canadian Literature class, and really enjoyed my venture into magical realism. Maybe you'd like to check that one out.
I suppose the reason why 'magical realism' is so hard to define is because the word 'realism' is pretty weird to use when we talk about literature. We all believe in different things and so when we're writing fiction (when we're writing, period. but let's say it's about fiction), we're creating a new world. No exceptions. The way we describe characters, events, thoughts and feelings, it's always our own way. So no fiction can be described as 'realism'. I would go further and argue that if a book has a clear genre it's not a good book at all, but let's just leave it at that.
+Anna Shatsky This is such an interesting perspective!
Ariel, these are the very best kind of videos you create, I sincerely hope you continue to share these insightful thoughts with the rest of the booktube community.
you should read a book called pedro paramo, by a really well know mexican writer called juan rulfo. it's one of the most influential books in the magical realism genre and of the most important books ever written in spanish, and it was published in 1955
this ↑
Ariel your editing skills have flown through the roof!
I love your video style so much, Ariel! Definitely checking some of these out.
I'm reading the Wind-up Bird Chronicle (after reading Kafka on the Shore) and I never knew it had a genre! I just thought "these stories are like normal stories, but things happen and it just is what it is!"
HI!!! I never knew "booktube" existed till now. You are wonderful! I also LOVE magical realism, but never know how to find more of it. Has your list of recommendations grown since the making of this? If so, please do share!! I also appreciate your video confessional about changing up your reading patterns from YA to other. GOOD FOR YOU! Consider me, as a person who reads zero YA, your new fan. CooL! Thank you for your content Ariel.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Salman Rushdie and Ben Okri - thre Magical Realist authors I love the most. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabo, 'Midnight's Children' and 'Satanic Verses' by Rushdie and Famished Road by Okri are classics.
In simple words... Magical realism takes place in a real world with some kind of mystic events and fantasy takes place somewhere out of this world...great video..Greetings from Colombia south America
Your enthusiasm is absolutely contagious!
Magic Realism started in Mexico with the literature of Elena Garro. She was the founder of this particular writing style. I suggest you read Recollections of things to come (Los recuerdos del porvenir, 1963). After that, all other authors followed including Juan Rulfo and Gabriel García Marquéz. Magic Realism as a genre was called that a decade later after Los recuerdos del porvenir. Gabriel García Marquez, after reading her book, began writing One hundred years of solitude and copied her style to the letter. But as history goes, female writers are never recognized or celebrated in comparison to their male counterparts.
No way to boil it down. The minute you do, flowers appear. Your second and third points are spot on. Even still, it would take those books you’ve used as examples X 10 to get to the nitty gritty of what the genre is. Historical context is paramount. Easy to reference German and Latin American sources as angles. More difficult to pin point why those cultures and many more find a home in authorial reticence.
The first recorded instance of Magical Realism is Men of Maize by Miguel Angel Asturias.
To say it doesn’t have an origin is a fundamental misunderstanding of the genre.
I loved how you put this video together! Magical Realism is such an interesting and complex beast
I love the creative structure of this video. I guess I thought Gabriel Garcia Marquez invented magical realism because he uses it so well but wherever it started, I am glad this literary element exists because while I don't like fantasy books, I do like a little bit of unexplainable magic in my reality.
I love how this video was filmed and I also love the information this video gave (:
Your eyebrows bring me joy. So do your unique and wonderfully structured videos.
This video is so well done that I just can't help but to like it. Well done, Ariel, well done.
I remember in college I was asked to do a power point for Franz Kafka, and every source I found about him described him as the one who started magical realism, even though he didn't start it. But at the same time I found out many magical realism writers were inspired by Kafka. So you can argue that magical realism, kind of, began with him.
His works aren't fantasical, but they are surreal and unusual at times.
I have been meaning to read Murakami so I may start with The Wind Up Bird Chronicles
Hi! I'm a friend of Hamel's (mentioned in one of your other videos). Just thought I'd say hi and offer some additional readings, if you're interested. I'm just finishing up English this year too. =]
You do have the basic differences down between fantasy and magical realism down in that fantasy involves another world while magical realism happens in our "real" world to an individual. But you also get the weird ones that seem to exist in both like "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" which is what we call a portal fantasy. It's really cool stuff. If you want to get a bit more out of it, I took a course on fantasy and the fantastic (in other words, fantasy and magical realism) and can send you some articles about it.
Great video, I've immediately subscribed 😊❤❤❤ At the moment, I'm on my way in writing my MA Thesis on Magic Realism, comparing two novels of Amos Tutuola. 😂🤞🤞🤞🤞 I really like the way you went through Murakami and Allende; I definitely suggest you to read Garcia Marquez, Alejo Carpentier, Tony Morrison, Ben Okri and Günter Grass (The Tin Drum).
long-time lurker (haha!) but I just had to let you know how much I'm enjoying your thoughts on Magical Realism. Absolutely LOVE your enthusiasm! xx
Well, in my literature class we were exploring magical realism and my professor -that is also a writer- told us that this genre started with Gabriel García Márquez and his novel "100 years of solitude". 🤓
Bueno, tu profe te mintió xddddd
You NEED to read the ocean at the end of the lane by neil gaiman! it's a magical realism book you'll enjoy reading it i promise
I think of it as a genre of alternative history type, where the only altered part of history is "magic possessed by ancient human" didn't go exist
>Magical Realism
>No GGM
Is like starting on Japanese surrealism and not watching Miyazaki.
But seriously, tho. 100YOS, Innocent Eréndira and Her Heartless Grandmother, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Colonel, Love in times of Cholera, Love and other Demons, etc. I love his books so much. I come from his region as well and it's so beautiful how he describes the kinds of things our great grandfathers told us, tales of witches and magic and travelers, war and peace, fantastic natural landscapes, it's... it's quite a journey, even for someone living the actual tale lmao
Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine. Delightful and Beautiful about his childhood growing up in the Midwest in the year of 1928.
I think (I might be wrong, but it's worth a shot)... With magical realism, the author brings magic into the settings surrounding the character in the "normal world." While fantasy, the author brings the character (or the reader) into a foreign world full of magic (creatures, cultures, elements, etc.)
Loved this, Ariel! You should read some Julio Cortázar next, specially Bestiary, it's a collection of short stories with lots of magical realism. And often times it's left ambiguous if what happens is supernatural or it is some sort of metaphor for something. It's really interesting!
Kung Fu Hustle and Crouching Tiger are great examples of magical realism movies. Lots of Kung Fu movies were magical realism. The best definition I can come up with is to contrast with contemporary fantasy like Harry Potter. In HP or Vampire Diaries the world initially seems like our contemporary world and there is a character who goes on a journey to discover the specialness and magic in the world that is hidden .The reader from our world goes on this journey of discovery with the character. There is a sense of a "guided tour" in contemporary fantasy, because the reader expects that the author will explain "how it all works" in the end. In 100 years of solitude, the world is contemporary and there are magical things, but the difference is that nobody is going on a journey to discover them. They're just in the background. Neither the reader nor the narrator character is making any effort to piece together how or why these amazing things are happening, they're just taken for granted. The author feels no compulsion to construct a coherent system of rules that govern the world.
Your videos are getting better and better 🌸
I'm learning about magical realism in English class, and this clarified a myriad of questions I had! Thank you bunches! xo
OMG Ariel such a great video!!!!!! I loved all of your background / setting what not choices. Please do more!!! Also, I had my struggle with magical realism, still not the end of my conclusion. :D
Great video Ariel! Hope to hear more about Magical Realism in the future.
I love the genre of magical realism, but I can only handle it in small doses. I got into the genre back in college in the nineties, starting with Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez' One Hundred Years of Solitude. I was hooked. I read the rest of his catalogue and moved onto other Latin American authors like Julio Cortazar and Jorge Louis Borges, who's considered the father of Latin American magical realism. Then it was on to other writers in the genre like Jorge Amado of Brazil, then Jose Saramago of Portugal, Haruki Murakami and Kobo Abe of Japan, and Salman Rushdie, then of India and the UK. I eventually had to take a break from magical realism because it can really make your head spin after a while. As a writer myself, I rarely deal with magical realism. I find it difficult to write and opt for actuality, whether I'm writing science fiction, fantasy or horror. What I mean by actuality is that there is no doubt, no matter how outrageous the scenario, that what is happening to characters is actually happening, not just fancy imaginings of their own mind. A couple of writers with a unique spin on magical realism that I highly recommend are the American writers Steven Millhauser and Nicholas Christopher. Absolutely wonderful writers. Millhauser writes wonderful novels, novellas and short stories like Martin Dressler (novel), Enchanted Night (novella), and The Barnum Museum. Nicholas Christopher writes novels like Vernonica and The Bestiary, both of them wonderful.
We also had (and is having its resurgence) a movement of magical realism here in the Philippines. You all have to read Nick Joaquin (who wrote distinctively with magical realism even BEFORE there was such a term) and Dean Alfar.
I think what I'm getting as I explore the differences in the genres is that fantasy has the "yer a wizard, harry" moment. Where the reader (and often the protag) has a realization moment of "there's a whole separate/secret world that exists outside our normal world with all this wacky stuff? whaaaat?" In magical realism, there's no 'normal world vs magical world', and it's not because the whole world is magical (like in the LOTR series where our global reality doesn't exist). It's just kinda: here is the world, there's only one, and it is normal, because it has all the normal stuff like computers and takeout food and people who can turn their enemies into toads by singing about it between the hours of 2 and 5 am. Or something like that. This is my understanding.
Such a creative and cool video, Ariel!
The difference between this and fantasy is that one is about the reality being magical, and the other about magic being real. Not sure if this makes sense, but if you are sure about which is which, i'm probably correct.
This was so interesting but also informative! Also I love your video style #goals!!
Such a cool way to present all the information and I loved hearing your opinions on it! :)
Your editing skills are so amazing! I love your videos
Such unique videos!!I love them!
this series has been great! I hope you keep doing different videos like this one.
+Ordowai D. Thank you :DDDDD
Yes! I was waiting for this video! I really enjoyed your series on Magical Realism! :D
To me, it seem so right to say every person understand the magical realism in his way, authors and critics, and readers of course. So yeah its very difficult to explain the differences between fantasy and magical realism. In school, I'm student of spanish literature, they said to us that fantasy are imposibles events; the magical realism are those events posibles but extremely difficult to happen. I think that magical realism is an objective vision of the reality but with elements unexpected that can happen. This is so confuse, but so enjoyable to read! I love the video, I read Everybody sees the ants from King and makes me want to read more about of the autor. Oh, and I recommend to you, perhaps you know already, One hundred year of solitude from Gabriel García Marquéz and Pedro Páramo from Juan Rulfo!
I am Colombian, and i think you would like Gabriel Garcia marquez, i have read a few from him, and i am kind of in loveee whit his books
Strange. All this time I thought I was writing a science fantasy comic, but turns out Im writing modern fantasy. Now I know in which direction I should move along. Thanks!
Honestly speaking my only reference of understanding Magical Realism is the story entitled You've Reached Sam
I appreciate you and the content you made.
I have absolutely loved this series 😊 so interesting to hear your thoughts on magical realism. I now want to explore this genre a bit more. Thank you for making such awesome and interesting videos!
Thank you so so much 😍
you need to read anything by Natasha Pulley! Her latest book The Bedlam Stacks is absolutely stunning!
I love how creative your videos are!! :)
Narcos brought me here
Me too bro😄
No way, me too.
Do you mind if I ask how? I haven't seen the series, so I'm very confused as to how it brought you here lol
@@bellaberryful As you probably know Narcos is centered around Colombia and there is some belief that Magical Realism started in Colombia. It is mentioned a few times in the show and that's what piqued my curiosity as to what it actually was.
@@bellaberryful In one of the episodes they mention how it was started in Colombia and how Pablo Escobar's story was so crazy that it embodied Magical Realism.
Edit: The fact that my comment is 3 years old blows my mind, I still remember writing it like it was recent.
I agree with what you said that Magical realism seems to be a contemporary setting with some magical element that isn't "other." If you're still interested in these kinds of books, Gabriel And The Swallows by Esther Dalseno is so good!
Love your definition. Helped me understand the genre better
Loved the style of this video -great editing :D
Magical realism is my favourite genre and I completely get what you mean by it's hard to explain the difference between it and fantasy. To me, the magic in fantasy draws attention to itself as spectacle and the plot tends to follow it. From what I read fantasy tends to be more plot driven unlike magic realism which tends to be character focused.
I’ve read Gabriel Garcia’s “A chronicle of a death foretold” and Banana Yoshimoto “Kitchen” and I recommend both highly!
my favorite series of magical realism is The Raven Cycle! The last installment just came out a few months ago, and oh my gosh I cried my eyes out Please do read it if you haven't yet, I highly recommend!
Have you read or watched Matilda? Would you consider that as magical realism? Your thumbnail is on fleek though and I really like how you edited this video! :D
I admire your presentation
Nice video. I think an aspect of magical realism that you kind of touched on is that the magic is usually a metaphor for another realistic issue. In the house of spirits you mentioned it made political commentary and in I crawl through it it is a metaphor for metal illnesses. I've also read a book recently called The Heart of Redness, and I think it effectively uses magical realism to show the effect of history on the present by having these physical scars that are passed down through the generations. This is what I believe is the difference between magical realism and contemporary fantasy. Magical realism aims to address issues in the real world through magic, while fantasy is magic set in the real world.
I'm doing my high school senior thesis on magical realism in South America :)
Magical realism is my absolute favorite thing to read! I'm also about to attempt to write it. Hoping I can pull it off okay. Also I love the style of this video- it was cute and informative! Murakami is my favorite magical realism writer so far. If you liked the Windup Bird Chronicles, you should try out 1Q84. It's a massive book, but it's stunningly written.
I'm glad you liked the video! I'm also experimenting with writing Magical Realism! It's really fun! And I definitely want to read more Murakami in the future!
100 Years of Solitude is one of the most amazing examples of Magical Realism, In many parts of the world Gabriel Garcia Marquez is considered as the father of Magical realism. Read it I guarantee that you'll love it!
I also think fantasy tends to be more cut and dry as opposed to magical realism where its like literary fiction with some element that could not happen in the real world?? What would the movie Safety Not Guaranteed be called?
I WANT YOU TO DO THIS FOR EVERY GENRE YOU'RE INTERESTED TO EXPLORE! it's gonna be like going in an adventure.. a literary adventure.
p.s: I was inspired to go exploring Plays. Not only Shakespeare's but Plays in general.
I noticed that among the books I read, I rarely pick up plays so I decided to dedicate the month for them.
Magic realism was born out of the global south, not the West. Popularized by non western artists. Let’s give credit where credit is due.
Indeed, It has an starting point
Pedro Páramo written by the Mexican author Juan Rulfo (1955) must not be missed!!
for some reason I thought you'll say in the end that you did not really like magical realism or it was just not something you'd want to read more of... and yes, i saw your previous videos about these books, and just got an impression that you didn't really like them :) interesting!
Hmmm... I suppose i've read only one magical realism book in my life. As far as I know in english it's called The Gray House by Mariam Petrosyan, it's about an isolated society inside a boarding school for disabled kids and how these kids interact with each other and the Outsides. it's really popular in my country but outside no one has heard of it?? I'm actually not sure if there are problematic aspects (ablism and stuff) to it because the time I read it was quite long ago, but it seems to handle the topic pretty well. I guess I need to reread it, tbh everything i remember is really vague and confusing...
Please can you tell me what’s the differences between magic realism and magical realism?
nice video! I would recommed for you to read any Gabriel Garcia Marquez book as he is the father of magical realism. His books really let you understand what this concept is as a whole
Have you read All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders? It's sorta magical realism, sorta sci-fi, sorta fantasy- it's a really weird book that's so peculiar. I personally loved it and if you're interested in reading something different it at least worth reading the synopsis on goodreads or the first fee chapters in a bookstore