The Kingdom of this World (Spanish: El Reino de este Mundo) is a novel by Cuban author Alejo Carpentier, first published in 1949, and translated into English and published in 1957. It tells the story of Haiti before, during, and after the Haitian Revolution. It is an important work in the development of magical realism in Caribbean and South American literature.
Plot introduction
The novel centers on the brutal evolution of Haiti after its winning independence from French colonial rule in a years' long revolution that cost many lives.
The initial jubilation gave way to the subsequent corruption and incompetence of the Haitian leadership. Haitian blacks had long been subjugated to the domination of white control. In the face of disillusionment following independence, they clung to their African traditions and rituals to give their lives meaning. Many black Haitians of the revolutionary generation had been born in African nations, so traditions were strong.[1] The story is told from the point of view of a slave.
Notes
- ^ Alejo Carpentier, The Kingdom of This World, review by Bob Corbett
References
- Representation and exploitation: the Haitian Revolution and Carpentier's 'The Kingdom of this World'
- Haiti: Revolutionary War 1791 - 1803
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