I had wondered what to do about three of the passages in “This is How it Ends" since they feel too preachy for me. I thought they were important enough to keep, but could be a turn off also. What I’ve decided to do is use magical realism in those spots. The messages will be the same, but they will be delivered differently.
When the fantastic, or magical, is inserted into an otherwise realistic story, the story or the passage is an example of magical realism. “One Hundred Years of Solitude” and “Beloved” are the two most notable examples of its use. A boat load of butterflies, a ghost in an otherwise realistic tale, are fantastic. What magical realism allows the author to do is subvert logical or commonly accepted notions. It works really well in situations where there may be the common truth, or official truth, and the truth as a character or community knows it—where there are gaps in the truth. It allows authors to collapse time, to move backwards and forwards and then back again. When it’s done well, it’s accepted as truth.
I think there is already precedence for it in “This is How it Ends.” Did I really float on a cloud? Was Mama really Lazarus and me, God? I won’t reveal to you where I’m making the changes, because then the changes might not work.
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