Final answer:
Multi-narrative structures in novels allow for a deep, multifaceted exploration of history and personal stories, often using magical realism to highlight cultural and political themes. Authors' choices in narrative strategies significantly influence how readers interpret stories, with personal and cultural context playing a crucial role.
Step-by-step explanation:
The effect of the novel's multi-narrative structure in works such as One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez and Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie provides a complex and layered understanding of historical events and personal experiences. In One Hundred Years of Solitude, García Márquez's use of magical realism reflects the often surreal and cyclical nature of Latin American history. His influences ranged from personal encounters with political violence in Colombia to a broader understanding of Latin American struggles during the Cold War era.
Midnight's Children utilizes magical realism to weave the history of India through the life of a single individual, demonstrating the benefits of fictionalizing history to express the symbiotic relationship between the past and individual narratives. Salman Rushdie's approach questions the possibility of condensing history into a single narrative, highlighting the subjectivity and narrative construct of history itself.
By exploring these multi-narrative structures, readers experience an increase in pleasure and engagement, as LibreTexts suggests. Such narrative strategies also prompt critical thinking about the choices made by authors when telling their stories, and why those choices might have been made, acknowledging the impact of cultural and personal experiences on interpretation.