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writes about women and sex can be a bit uncomfortable—no one can argue he isn’t one the most important modern authors today.
Rutherford B. Hayes and several other dead former U.S. presidents reincarnating into the bodies of different horse breeds. “American Street” IBI ZOBOI
Ibi Zoboi’s 2017 novel about a young Haitian immigrant living in Detroit with her aunt and three cousins has only a light dusting of magical realism. Still, what magic there is in the text has a great impact on the plot. At the beginning of the novel, Fabiola’s mother is detained by immigration services on their arrival into the U.S. Distressed, and missing her mother, Fabiola has to enter a strange new world all on her own. Living in a house on the corner of American Street and Joy Road, Fabiola must fight to keep her Haitian roots alive, all the while integrating into her new American life. “American Street” almost plays out like a familiar fairytale. Fabiola has three loud, expressive cousins who constantly make fun of her, but protect her when push comes to shove. Her aunt, who Fabiola wants to call “Matant Jo”, matant meaning aunt in Haitian Creole, forbids her from
speaking the language she grew up with and cherishes so much.
In his 2018 novel, “Killing Commendatore," Murakami embarks on his most exhaustive effort to date. Clocking in a just shy of 700 pages and packed with prose as dense as tangled ivy, the book is not for impatient readers. “Killing Commendatore” takes its time doling out its mysterious plot.
If this all sounds like an ordinary story of a young immigrant coming of age, that’s because, in a sense, that’s what “American Street” is, except, however, for the stark presence of several lwa spirits in Haitian Vodou culture. One of these lwa is “Papa Legba,” an intermediary of sorts between the living and spirit worlds. In the disguise of an old homeless man, Legba acts as Fabiola’s guide through the underbelly of Detroit as she goes up against her cousins’ boyfriend Dray, who might have his own secret identity.
The novel centers around a middle-aged portrait painter who secludes himself in a mountain property in rural Japan after separating from his wife. The house once belonged to the acclaimed painter and father of an art school classmate, Tomohiko Amada.
In “American Street,” Zoboi deftly weaves the undercurrent of magical realism into this harrowing tale of a daughter and the love she has for her mother.
Then there’s the narrator’s mysterious neighbor Wataru Menshiki, who requests the narrator paint his portrait; however, the narrator soon hears through the jungle grapevines that this Menshiki might not be just any ordinary man.
Killing Commendatore” HARUKI MURAKAMI
Of course, no list on or associated with magical realism would be complete without Haruki Murakami. The renowned Japanese author is an almost cult-like figure in the literary world. Those who love Murakami do so with absolute adoration, and while he does have his critics—the way he
Slowly but surely, eerie and unexplained phenomenon start to occur for the narrator. First, there’s the titular painting “Killing Commendatore,” which is hidden away in a secret attic compartment, almost like it was never meant to be found.
Much of the fun of “Killing Commendatore” is piecing together what exactly is going on yourself as you try to figure out what’s real and what isn’t, so I won’t go further in revealing anything about the plot to avoid any potential spoilers. By Gregory Bertrand Copy Editor Polo Lifestyles 2020 •
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