An excellent piece, thanks. I think Murakami said something along the lines of magical realism being more about how the author sees the world, that they can't see it any other way. That really spoke to me. I personally don't think that kind of perception has geographical or socio-political borders. I also suspect Magical Realism is going to become more and more popular as Netflix and the like search around for fresh, strange perspectives to adapt to the screen.