The Changeling by Victor LaValle
A Review
I always say that I'm no fan of magical realism; that I like my realist fiction to be realist, my magic definitely, clearly supernatural. But perhaps it's the term "magical realism" which I don't really care for, not the genre itself, and I'd be openminded enough to enjoy it if it is branded as "fantasy", “weird”, “speculative” or "horror" fiction.Take Victor LaValle's The Changeling. It starts off as an ultra-realist depiction of a young, black family in New York. The relationship between book-dealer Apollo Kagwa and librarian Emma Valentine is tenderly depicted, from their tentative courtship, to their marriage, to the birth of their son Brian, named after Apollo's estranged father. We sense Apollo's enthusiasm at being a new dad. LaValle's observations about "New Dads" – 21st Century fathers sharing family duties with their wives – are wry but spot-on. Can realist fiction get more real than this?
Suddenly and unexpectedly, however, the novel changes gears. The book blurb speaks of an "unspeakable act of violence", which I will not reveal so as not to spoil its gut-wrenching effect. Even such a horrific crime, however, remains, unfortunately, within the realm of the possible, as watching the 8'o clock news will reveal. It is the justification of the act which propels us into the mythical. What follows is a Gaiman-esque, mind-bending journey into an alternative and unlikely New York, peopled by characters, creatures and plot-tropes which would not have been out of place in a Scandinavian epic. And there is, indeed, the feel of a medieval Northern saga in Apollo Kagwa's journey into the heart of the tragedy which has struck his family.
Surprisingly, the more fantastic the story becomes, the more it becomes rooted in the present. The realities of contemporary urban living, including our fixation on social media, not only feature in the novel, but are an intrinsic aspect of the plot.
The Changeling had me hooked. Like an olden-day bard, LaValle keeps us hanging onto his words. What this novel certainly shows is that myths are just a different way of portraying the world, a magical depiction of the everyday. Isn't that what magical realism’s all about?
Paperback, 431 pages
Published July 5th 2018 by Canongate Books (first published June 13th 2017)
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