Fantasy as a Realistic Genre.

11.1.2020

Everyone who reads or has read will have come across fantasy novels at some point in their lives; so there’s no use denying it. If you do, I’ll know.

Some of the popular ones you definitely had to have encountered are Alice in Wonderland, the Harry Potter Series, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and the Narnia series. If not these, at least some books by Enid Blyton such as the Faraway Tree series or the Wishing Chair series.

Since I cannot resist mentioning some of my personal favourites, let me get it over with quickly. I have some terrific memories of reading (and rereading) literary gems like The Name of the Wind, The Wise Man’s Fear, Night Circus, the Discworld series, His Dark Materials and Neverwhere. Now we can proceed.

Fantasy is defined as imaginative fiction that involves adventure and magic, in an alternate universe or in a non-existent place in this universe. It is also called escapist fiction because we often turn to this genre for a momentary escape from reality.

This is true in many cases; I shall not dispute individual experiences. However, as a voracious reader myself, I have found that all fiction serves as an escape if and when you need one. And just as all fiction, at the same time, provides clarity, fantasy does too. Several times, I have taken refuge in a book, only to find that whatever I was running away from earlier, suddenly made sense to me.

Another reason why I would contest the common perception of my favourite genre is because it is often wrongly called far-fetched. Firstly, going by the dictionary definition of the word, I would say that the point of fantasy is to exit limits and transcend worlds and imaginations.

Also, I have found that it does take immense courage and skill to be able to navigate one’s way around a fantastical piece of writing, as its author. Firstly, you have to be able to remember the various new worlds you have created and all their tiny details. Second, putting bizarreness on paper and then holding your head high is no mean feat; one really needs to believe in what one is writing.

Lastly, life imitates art and art imitates life. And this applies to the genre of fantasy as well. Who’s to say what the so-called “unrealistic” or “crazy” books suggest couldn’t be happening to us right now?