Essay Example on Magic Realism in The Book of Disappearance

Magical realism is a unique literal movement associated with authors from the Latin American background. (Noë, 2007) argued that magical realism is a literary genre that depicts the world as having magic and fantasies. The world is grounded in the real world, with fantastical elements considered normal in the world. Just like fairy tales, magical realism novels and short stories distort the line distinguishing reality and fantasy. The characteristics of magical realism are realistic settings and have supernatural elements. Most books have talking objects and dead characters. Telepathy is also a common feature in those stories. The authors of magical realism deliberately fail to explain the magic in their words, which normalizes it making it seem like a regular part of everyday life. According to Conniff (2000), authors use magical realism to provide a critique to society and particularly the politics and actions of the elite. The genre has increased in popularity over the years. Therefore, this analysis aims to explain the magical realism in The Book of Disappearance by Ibtisam Azem.

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Synopsis of the Book of Disappearance

The Book of Disappearance is a masterpiece that prompts a reader to reflect on Nakba's historical foundations in 1948 and the intentions of the Zionists in the proper cleansing of Palestinians from the land within which they belong (Azem 2014). Notably, Nakba refers to the Palestinians' exodus in the year 1948 (Halabi, 2012). The journey occurred when over 700,000 Palestinian Arabs were expelled from the homes during the Palestine war (Salaita, 2013). The novel is fictional and revolves around the past and the present. Azem tries to find answers to a hypothetical question of what would happen if the Palestinians residing in Israel would disappear. Primarily, Azem utilizes magic, mystery, fantasy, imagination, and reality to explain the occurrences in the narrative.

Importantly, the novel revolves around two primary narrators, Alaa and Ariel. Alaa is a freelance cameraman from the Palestinian descent while Ariel is a settler from the Israeli background. The two reside in the same flats and are best friends, more like brothers, as shown in the next parts of this analysis. Alaa's grandmother is one of the Nakba survivors and has died, as indicated in the novel. Alaa believes that the grandmother represents a link between the rupture of what he terms as "two Jaffas" (Azem 2014). In contrast, Ariel is a liberal and questions the military occupation of the Israelis though with limits. The book progresses, and the reader can familiarize himself or herself with the characters who have normalized the Israelis' narratives and is willing to participate in appropriating the memories of the Palestinians (Nur, 2008).

Alaa records his thoughts and experiences in a notebook that he leaves behind after he disappears with the other Palestinians. The Israelis experience different reactions from the occurrences since essential services are disrupted. From this, one can conclude that the Palestinians worked as slaves for the Israelis. Some acted as drivers, newspaper vendors, and different professions. Thus, their disappearances affected the flow of services in the area. The prisoners from Palestinian descent have disappeared, and the insecurity becomes an issue of concern. Mainly, the book is a recollection of Nakba and how the Israelis and, in particular, Ariel, relate to the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians. It also explains what would happen to Palestine people's history and memories following the disappearance of their guardians.

Alaa, as seen in his red notebook, is conscious of the Palestinian memory of Nakba and appreciates the prevalence of its occurrence. About his grandmother's memory, Alaa writes that after sixty years, one would feel the tightness of the breath when talking about Nakba (Azem 2014). Alaa's concerns about the Palestinian memories can be well understood and appreciated by a reader, especially after his mysterious disappearance. The aftermath represents the presence of settler-colonials on the Palestinian land and territory. Ariel transitions from being a friend to an appropriator of the friend's apartment. He tries to find answers to the Palestinians' disappearance and makes himself comfortable in Alaa's apartment. Ariel moves from being a friend and an appropriator to a settler-colonial. In effect, the memories of Alaa preserved in his notebook are grievously affected.

Magic Realism in the Book of Disappearance

Ibtisam Azem is a Palestinian writer who wrote the novel, The Book of Disappearance, which utilizes magic realism. The book provides questions about what would happen if Palestinians residing in Israel disappear and how the Israelis would react. The novel is a powerful and imaginary set in modern TelAviv about 48 hours after Israelis discovered that their neighbors have vanished. The story revolves around the experiences of two narrates, Alaa and Ariel. Alaa is a young Palestinian who talks with his dead grandmother in a journal, which he left behind after disappearing. Ariel is a journalist who struggles to understand the traumatic circumstances that resulted. The novel shows the confrontations existing between the two memories. Ariel is a Zionist who is critical of the occupation of the military. However, he believes in the project of the Israelis and the national myth. In contrast, Alaa is haunted by the memories of the grandmother, Nakba. The memories of being displaced from Jaffa to becoming an expatriate in her homeland. Ariel tries to find clues towards the secret of collective disappearance, and his reaction reveal the clefts of the incidences presiding the vanishing.

Accordingly, the premise of the novel revolves around an unexplained disappearance of the Palestinians. The vanishing symbolizes a colonial fantasy motivated by exploring the possible occurrences if it became a reality (Samad, 2020). Although the disappearance takes place in West Bank, Israel, and Gaza, Azem focuses on Jaffa/Tel Aviv due to the significance and symbolism. The vanishing that occurs in the novel occurs in various dimensions. The first one is a literal disappearance, which is the primary productive theme. Literal disappearance refers to what happens in states and individuals whose identities are based on racial denial and violence exclusion (Samad, 2020). People seek a new identity due to violence and racial incidences hence explaining the literal disappearance in the novel.

Azem's novel contains magical realism where impossible scenarios of millions of Palestinians vanish to explain the mystery behind the Zionist mythology on the establishment of Israel (Samad, 2020). A variety of scenes in the novel are familiar, primarily to those people who know Nakba, which are homes with uneaten food on the table, televisions that have been switched on, house keys hanging on the door, and empty rooms. Such residents look as if the residents disappeared in the form of a spirit. The silence depicted in the novel is similar to that witnessed in 1948, where millions of Palestinians vanished. Azem has a colonial way of magical thoughts portrayed in the book that he utilizes to explain the migration from native land. One can presume that the inspiration behind the book is to show what happens in Palestine. The sudden disappearance of the enemy, Palestinians, provokes an array of reactions among the Israelis left behind. Confusion and anger are imminent, and commuters are stranded when the buses they use do to arrive, newspapers are not delivered, and garbage is left uncollected. In addition to that, teachers, doctors, and cafes owners do not show up in workplaces. The point that the author tries to make is to show the importance of Palestinians in the life of the Israelis.

Alaa and Ariel, the primary narrators in Azem's novel, live in the same apartment in Tel Aviv. They have many similarities, including the fact that they are attractive, sophisticated, bilingual, and single. Alaa and Ariel are inseparable and often hang out with each other. Their friendship can neutralize their different ethnicities. Azem imagines the relationship between the two friends depicting them as intimate like brothers since after Alaa disappears, Ariel moves to his friend's apartment smoothly. The reason for moving to Alaaa's house is unclear since his apartment is just as good as Alaa's. The mother seeks to upgrade her lifestyle and move to one of the Arab flats to view the sea. From this, one can see that the author shows that after the disappearance, the people left took advantage of having whatever they admired since it was at their disposal. Ariel preferred Alaa's apartment to his while his mother preferred an apartment with a sea view. With this in mind, the disappearance imagined by the author inevitably enabled Ariel and his mother to live up to their fantasies hence showing an instance of magical realism in the novel.

Notably, Alaa left for a place nearby Jaffa to take care of his ailing grandmother, Tata. The place was where Alaa grew up. On one occasion, Alaa found his grandmother sited dead on a bench that overlooked the sea. Azem claims that Tata had a light smile on her lips at the moment when Alaa found her (Azem, 2014). The death of the grandmother stimulated him to start keeping a journal in a new red notebook. Alaa's journal is Azem's book, The Book of Disappearance. The book is more oriented to Tata than to him. Besides, her grandmother was more interested in Jaffa as it existed before the ethnic cleansing in 1948 (Grey, 2009). Since then, Jaffa has been treated like a shadow of the Zionist-built Tel Aviv. The journal shows that even in death, Alaa's grandmother pulls him closer to her. Alaa is connected deeper into the spirit of the old port city of the Palestinians. Alaa writes letters to his grandmother, which depicts her as a strong and witty person who showed immense affection for his grandson. Alaa's messages to his grandmother are a fantasy and imagination that makes Alaa feel his grandmother's presence around him.

Tata's family fled the ethnic cleansing in Jaffa in 1948 (Azem, 2014). However, her father and herself could not escape since she was pregnant with Alaa's mother. The family members who left could not return. From the book, Tata once told Alaa that people left, the country strayed, and their souls became loose (Azem, 2014). Alaa notes that all the Jaffans left behind saw a shadow that walked next to them as they walked through the city. Primarily, this means that all the Jaffans are frequently monitored. In one of Alaa's letters to his grandmother, Alaa claims that he longs for her and compares the feeling to holding a rose of thorns (Azem, 2014). He remembers how the grandmother was full of life and how she missed the city people. Tata had told Alaa that she walked in the city, but it could not recognize her (Azem, 2014). Moreover, she complained that the city streets were empty even though there were many people.

During the disappearance, the Israelis wonder why the Palestinians have not shown up to work. Many wonder whether they are on strike or not. The act of disappearance, which is a fantasy, is juggled with reality after Israelis starts questioning the whereabouts of the Palestinians and relating it with a possible strike. The Israelis do not get any explanation, but they are accustomed to the reality without the Palestinians. They start appreciating the rebirth of their nation. No one would blame the misfortunes of the Israelis on the Palestinians. However, the Israelis opted to take a decree that required the residents to register within 48 hours.