"Magical realism", as described by Michael Woods, "is not a style of writing, just a modest fidelity to the magic of reality in places where we are not." Woods goes on to tell his audience about the allure of magical realism by explaining that reality in foreign places is more enchanting and exciting than anything a reader might think. Woods establishes vague principles that magical realism "rarely resorts to". His list includes: “dates, recognizable city streets, historical figures, diaries, crude descriptions, invitations to look things up in newspapers… Nighttime settings, promises of many strange things, horrified and/or terrified audiences of listeners within the tale " By Woods' standards it tells what magical realism does not materialize. Instead of disavowing conclusions no one was drawing, informing the reader what magical realism includes would communicate the writing style more effectively. Woods' only literary reference is Macondo's One Hundred Years of Solitude. While it is refreshing that One Hundred Years of Solitude is a magical and realistic novel, it is perhaps the only novel that fully embodies Woods' criteria. Despite this canon, Haruki Murakami's The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle doesn't exactly embody Woods's articulate caliber of magical realism. On the other hand, Dante Alighierdo's Inferno uses the more magically realistic features described by Woods. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami certainly exemplifies the irrefutable qualities of magical realism, the author raises more questions than answers and some parts of the atmosphere of the book show magical realism. Yet, the fact that The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is set in a real city, t...... middle of paper ......sions on the strangeness and One Hundred Years of Solitude of Macondo that connects more from close with Inferno and less so with The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. Woods' speech talks about how strangeness helps you set yourself free and allows you to see who you really are. Magical realism “rarely resorts,” according to Woods, “to dates, recognizable city streets, historical figures, diaries, crude descriptions, invitations to look things up in newspapers… Late night settings, promises of much strangeness, dismay and/or terrified audience of listeners within the story." It sets a generalized standard for what magical realism is (a very confusing and generalized style or genre of writing) but in truth there are no rights or wrongs about how a book should be written. Calvin Pole once said, "Since we are in hell, and we are hell, why not call it something else, and live happily ever after?".”