Magic Realism in Salman Rushdie’s Shame

Salman Rushdie's works often blend fact and fiction in a masterful way. By doing so, Rushdie's magical realist texts present the contradictions of contemporary India and Indianness. Rushdie's status as an immigrant to Britain but writing about the Indian sub-continent allows him to posit himself as both an ‘insider' and an ‘outsider' of both cultures. Rushdie's hybrid identity as an Indian, now migrated to Britain, very well suits the technique of magic realism in order to raise voice for those who are marginalized because of their language, religion, caste, gender and nationality. This research paper attempts to analyze Salman Rushdie's use of magic realist technique in his novel Shame. By using this technique, Rushdie successfully blurs the boundary between fact and fiction. This technique enables him to question the dominance of patriarchy, corruption and power and at the same time put a resistance to them. There are several magical elements in the novel which make it incredible. But, the setting of the novel strongly resembles modern-day Pakistan. Thus, the blending of magic and history makes the novel a true example of magic realist novel.