magical realism

While the first few chapters might give you the feeling that this is a slow-burn romance novel, filled with pain and grief, it quickly picks up pace from the moment Clementine meets Iwan, which is where the magical realism element also begins. As the shy, grieving woman with no purpose other than her work finds Iwan, a handsome, charismatic, sweet young man in her aunt’s magical apartment, travelling through time, she experiences shock, attraction, and awe. Meeting Iwan changes her life. While magical realism forms the main foundation of the story, it also normalizes homosexual relationships, breaks gender stereotypes, reminds the reader of their favourite person they look up to, and makes one’s thoughts wander about in fantasy, thereby serving as a good escapist break.