Book Review
The Kingdom of this World by Alejo Carpentier
The Author
Alejo Carpentier is the name of the writer, and he was born in Havana in Cuba in the year 1904. He moved to France and later to Venezuela, where he lived for a long time. He returned to Cuba after the revolution. He is considered to be among the most influential Latin American writers of the century. He wrote other books like The Chase, Explosion in a Cathedral, and The Lost Steps. He later died in 1980 in Paris, France (Alan et al., 1974).
Context
The setting of the book emanates from the neutralization of a black regimen that was under the rule of King Henri-Christophe in Haiti, which existed after the French Colonial Rule in 1803. The king was born as a slave, but he grew up and became the first black king in the west. The writer captures this historical event creatively by putting it in the picture of a dream which intensifies the themes of that period—that time involved the use of voodoo among vices like hate.
Summary
This is a post-colonial novel that depicts events that spark from a slave rebellion and other historical episodes. The characters in the book are drawn from Cuba and Europe. The essential role in this book is known as Ti Noel and witnesses many events that occur in the book. At the beginning of the novel, Ti Noel is a slave and a fellow slave who was a singer of many tales, including a story about King Da of Angola, influences him. The author presents a form of characters, contexts, cultures, and conflicts in the story of Ti Noel. There seems to change, even though things remain the same. There was a shift in the oppressors over time. The black king is a savage to Ti Noel even after escaping slavery from French landlord and Cuban slave master. The more things change, the more they remain the same.
Analysis
The novel would be termed as a magical realism since it is written in a literary approach that translates fiction to reality. The plan is adopted from the way Latin Americans tell their stories over generations. The historical fact of the book is evident in the politics of the period after colonial rule. There is fiction, history, social reality, and fabulist approaches in the text. This attitude of the author affects the principal characters, themes, and ideas brought out in the book. The setting is a period of change systemically in the culture and traditions of Hispanic, African, European, and American. The characters encounter complexities during the interaction. The main character Ti Noel escapes from slavery and servitude and comes in contact with magic and learns to transform to different animals. The fiction is a mythical realism that surprises the reader but helps to reduce the boundary between reality and fantasy in a creative way. The story has a massive impact on current Latina literature.
Conclusion
The book is drawn from a period of political reality with themes of oppression and corruption. The author uses magical realism to tell the story. The style is what is used in most children’s stories that many people were told when they were young. Revisiting magic from a mature perspective while incorporating cultural, social, and political realities is a right way of awakening the imagination of adults. The charm of fantasy proves to be influential since ancient days, and many writers have adopted this style in order to express events that occur in society.
Work Cited
CHEUSE, Alan. “Memories of the future: a critical biography of Alejo Carpentier.” (1974).
Carpentier, Alejo. The Kingdom of This World: A Novel. Macmillan, 2006.