Magic Realism is a genre of art and literature in which magical or unrealistic elements appear in an otherwise grounded or mundane environment. The term was first used to describe visual art in Germany in the hmid-20th century, and later, in the United States. However, "Magical Realist" is applied to paintings differently than to literature. Magical Realist paintings often depict a grounded subject through a hyper-realistic or mysterious lens - so the term applies more to the perspective than the content itself.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude is the most famous commonly cited magical realist text, and he is only one of many Latin American writers from the mid-late 20th century whose work falls into this category. Magical realist fiction also inevitably features a heavily subjective viewpoint of the author; perhaps the text is a writer's attempt to explain the inexpicable, reflect on a collective past, or make sense out of perceived chaos. Magical realism differs from fantasy in that the supernatural elements of the story are woven naturally into a more grounded narrative rather than taking place a world that is entirely the writer's creation.
In The Five People You Meet in Heaven, Mitch Albom uses supernatural elements to imagine the journey through which his protagonist, Eddie, reaches eternal bliss. In the various "lessons" Eddie learns in Heaven, Albom offers his perspective on life, love, death, and loss.
