A review by peej_
The Kingdom of This World by Alejo Carpentier

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

If you're interested in magical realism and don't want to start with Cien años de Soledad/A Hundred Years of Solitude, this is the place to start. Considered the predecessor to the genre itself, author Alejo Carpentier's work is confusing, enthralling and bound to leave you sucked into a vision of post-revolutionary Haiti. Worth it to read Carpentier's original paper on the concept of "the marvelous real" as well if it piques your interest (you definitely cannot find it here:  

https://bit.ly/3P8Jmi6

).