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A review by loira
The Kingdom of This World by Alejo Carpentier
2.0
Also read for 'Latin American History via the Novel.' I think a large part of why I didn't like this book more is because I only had a day to read it. For a book of this length that was plenty of time, BUT I definitely felt the pressure to read it quickly (the library only allowed it to be out for a day). That said, it was still a good story and used symbolism in interesting ways. It dealt with the Haitian revolution and how the more things change, the more they stay the same. If you aren't familiar with the revolution at all (as I wasn't), and aren't familiar with the magical realist genre (...as I wasn't) you may feel a bit lost, but the work is worth reading regardless.
One interesting observation is the lack of named female characters -to my recollection those who are named are married. Otherwise, women are mentioned by their professions, and I thought that an interesting statement to be making about the status of women at the time. However, this may differ from the history itself (it seems unlikely that no women would have been involved in the revolution, especially in 'supportive' roles).
One interesting observation is the lack of named female characters -to my recollection those who are named are married. Otherwise, women are mentioned by their professions, and I thought that an interesting statement to be making about the status of women at the time. However, this may differ from the history itself (it seems unlikely that no women would have been involved in the revolution, especially in 'supportive' roles).