Por que ler literatura de fantasia?

Why read fantasy literature?

Abstract

In one of his most sophisticated essays, the Italian writer Italo Calvino investigates with a lot of humor and insight why to read the classics. It is to be thought that no one would contest
the assertion that there is always something useful in this type of reading. However, many people, for various reasons, are very averse to the idea of reading such works. Some judge
them monotonous and boring; others, tedious and nauseating erudition. For this reason, Calvino tries to present readers with a more attractive picture around these books, which
are viewed with such avoidance by some people. In this text, we propose to follow a path that is very similar to fantasy literature. This type of text is not even considered by some
people to have the same artistic and technical quality as other works, especially those that are part of what is conventionally called realism or naturalism. About fantasy literature, they have already stated that it is nothing more than a child's thing, that it does not apply to a young or even adult audience. This type of book also does not bring any kind of benefit to
its readers, all it allows is an escape from reality, a kind of aesthetic isolation produced by the text, which promotes a dense alienation since these plots and plots are endowed with
elements that are very adverse to real life. Faced with such criticism, many people even feel intimidated when proposing to read a fantasy work. Thus, we suggest a pragmatic
definition of fantasy literature and its limits with other adjacent genres. Then, we will take a closer look at the reasons why anyone should dedicate themselves to reading a work of
fantasy, and also how these texts can help us.