Interestingly, "Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius" isn't exactly about a fantasy world, it's about a group of people
inventing one, with its own languages, history etc.
Quote:
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Since the Literati seem to regard 'fantasy' fiction as some sort of printed leprosy, when confronted with an undeniable genius of the fantastic, like Borges, they resort to coinages like 'magical realism' to avoid infection.
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It reminds me a bit of a story by Somerset Maughm, the name of which escapes me. Briefly, a critically acclaimed but unpopular novelist wants more people to read her books. Her husband advises her to write a standard detective story with a few literary touches. Lots of "intellectual" people, he explains, would just love to read thrillers but don't dare– her name on the cover will make the book respectable.
Still, the "magical realism" label
does guarantee that the book at least won't be a stereotyped sword-and-sorcery yarn. There's a point to that– much of the fantasy section of any bookshop consists of third-rate
Lord of the Rings rip-offs, with a few D&D cliches thrown in.