Magical Realism and Lack of Authorial Reticence in Gunter Grass`s The Tin Drum with Reference to Gabriel Garcia Marquez`s One Hundred Years of Solitude

This article introduces some distinctive features of magical realism, namely authorial reticence and concept of hesitation to prove that despite wide advertisement, Gunter Grass s The Tin Drum cannot be categorized in this narrative mode. The methodology employed is mainly based on close reading, comparison and contrast with Gabriel Garcia Marquez s One Hundred Years of Solitude, and provides examples or excerpts from both novels. Furthermore, this article introduces and names two newly-discovered components of magical realism, namely paucity and momentariness, perceived out of Franz Roh’s famous statement regarding the palpitating nature of magic hidden behind our represented world. Finally, it is inferred that not only Gunter Grass s The Tin Drum contradicts paucity and Momentariness, but also unlike Marquez s One Hundred Years of Solitude that well retains authorial reticence, Grass s The Tin Drum opposes this element ostensibly, as the protagonist of the novel attempts to provide rational explanations and logical justifications for whatever he does.