Alejo Carpentier
A Cuban novelist, essayist, and musicologist, considered one of the seminal figures of Latin American literature. He is renowned for his development of "magical realism" or "lo real maravilloso" (the marvelous real), a literary style that integrates fantastical elements into realistic settings. Carpentier's works, like The Kingdom of this World, explore Caribbean history, African diasporic cultures, and the fusion of European and indigenous traditions, offering a unique and rich perspective on Latin American identity.
A few years after its liberation from harsh French colonial rule in 1803, Haiti endured a period of great brutality under the reign of King Henri Christophe, who was born a slave but rose to become the first black king in the Western Hemisphere. In this unnerving novel from one of Cuba's most celebrated authors, Henri Christophe's oppressive rule is observed through the eyes of the elderly slave Ti Noël, who suffers abuse from masters both white and black. As he ranges across the country searching for true liberation, Ti Noël navigates bloody revolutions, maniacal rulers with false visions of grandeur, and the mysterious power of voodoo magic.