A review by mmccombs
Magical/Realism: Essays on Music, Memory, Fantasy and Borders by Vanessa Angélica Villarreal

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

3.5

On the whole, I thought this was very well done and made me think of things in new ways. I found the chapters that focused specifically on her unpacking/challenging/rethinking pop culture were the strongest (Game of Thrones, Kurt Cobain and Selena, Viking content), while the more broad essays seemed to lack focus and cohesion for me. I also had a hard time finding the “voice” in this collection, it was sometimes very academic and other times a bit casual, which again fueled that incohesive feeling. I appreciated the creative and intelligent links the author made and I had a good time thinking about them, but I do feel this could have been tighter in some way.

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