Ink Blood Sister Scribe

Literary magical realism is defined broadly as literature in which impossible or magical events occur within a narrative that is otherwise grounded in reality. It often blurs the lines between fantasy and reality, with uncanny events pervading an otherwise recognizable world. The term “magic realism” was first used in 1925 in the context of German art history, when Franz Roh used it to describe surrealist paintings. In the 1950s, critics began applying the term magical realism to literature, particularly in the context of Latin American writers, including Gabriel García Márquez, whose One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967) is considered a landmark text in the genre. Magical realism is often characterized by the inclusion of cultural critique, in part because it enables writers to emphasize the contrast between actual geopolitical contexts and ideal or alternative futures. In the context of 20th-century Latin America, writers like García Marquez, Jorge Luis Borges, Alejo Carpentier, and Isabel Allende employed the genre to critique Cold War-era politics and advance anticolonial arguments. Scholars have suggested that magical realism’s focus on the contrast between reality and magic allows writers to offer insight on what it means to be human and to exist in the world. Perez and Chevalier suggest that by “calling attention to Being in its complex forms, magic aims to reformulate reality and widen the cultural parameters of the social world” (Perez, Richard, and Victoria A. Chevalier. “Introduction: ‘Proliferations of Being: The Persistence of Magical Realism in Twenty-First Century Literature and Culture.’” The Palgrave Handbook of Magical Realism in the Twenty-First Century, Palgrave, 2020, pp. 1-19). Both historically and in its contemporary context, magical realism emphasizes how people interact with the world around them, both real and imagined.

While both the fantasy and magical realism genres include elements of magic, magical realism is distinct. Elements of magic pervade a realistic world in magical realism, while fantasy is based on the creation of an alternative world and often features settings and characters that are separate from reality. The genres are also differentiated by contrasting amounts of worldbuilding. In fantasy, novels often include extensive descriptions of the world, the magic or uncanny elements, and how they function. Magical realism usually has fewer explicit details about why the magic exists and how it functions, which enhances the sense that magic is “normal” in the context of the novel.

In Ink Blood Sister Scribe, the presence of Scribes and magical books is presented as a given in the world of the novel. Törzs provides details about realistic settings and contemporary life that operate alongside the magic in the novel and emphasize that it takes place in reality rather than an alternate universe. For example, the Antarctic research station, rural Vermont home, and city of London are described realistically. Further, elements of contemporary life and technology—like references to NDAs, “sexting,” and video chatting—emphasize the novel’s realism. While Törzs includes descriptions of family history, Ink Blood Sister Scribe does not include extensive worldbuilding or explanations of why magical books exist, normalizing these elements of the novel. Törzs also addresses human experiences and complexities of being in the world, including themes of family and estrangement, power, and loyalty. The novel also offers critiques of establishment and prejudice, with Richard’s exploitation of Scribes and limitation of magic to his own bloodline.