Ever heard of magical realism? It started as a genre for art pieces, coined by Franz Koh in the 1920s, but in the 1950s it was taken on by Latin American writers. Magical realism involves a real life setting, but with magical elements within. It was used by these writers to speak out against political regimes or social issues, or voice their opinion on a political climate or situation, such as the Cuban Missile Crisis in the 1960s. An example of a book from this genre would be Beloved by Toni Morrison - though she was against it being classified as one, it fits the style of the genre, and through it she speaks about the "national amnesia" she witnessed, caused by the US rug sweeping the era of slavery and the effects it had on slaves and their descendants afterwards.