The Kingdom of This World: A Novel

I am an unabashed fan of Alejo Carpentier, so of course I liked this book. It is much shorter and easier to read and follow than some of his later creations, but it is interesting both as historical fiction and as an early example of magical realism. As other reviewers have pointed out, this book deals with the Haitian rebellion and overthrow of the French and their subsequent subjugation by King Henri Christophe, a former slave who turns out to be even more despotic than the French were and who, in spite of being black himself, continues the odious practice of black enslavement. There are numerous characters, but the principal character is Ti-Noel, and elderly slave who becomes free after being lost by his master in a card game. Read together with Carpentier's later "Explosion in a Cathedral," this book provides an excellent insight into the tumultuous and violent history of the Caribbean.

This was the first book by Carpentier that I have read, and I was surprised by how little I connected with the story line and characters. It felt a little sketchy for the scope of the narrative, which involves slave rebellions, voodoo, the extravagances of colonialism, all set in the tropical heat of Haiti. Perhaps its charm lies in hinting at possibilities, and yet I expected more from a writer who is often considered the father of magic realism. I found myself wondering how I would have reacted to the book if I had read it 20 or 30 years ago. Maybe with more intensity, more awe. Ultimately I was glad I read it as an historical perspective, and as a way of understanding the seeds of inspiration he undoubtedly provided other writers, who delved more deeply into the implications of a form of fiction that was not yet fully realized.

Carpentier, the revered Cuban novelist who died in 1980, published The Kingdom of This World in 1949. The novel focuses on the history of the Haitian Revolution, as told through the eyes of Ti Noel. Ti Noel is an old slave who sees much sameness in the difference between the two reigning periods of decadence and brutality. He leaves Haiti for Cuba as a slave lost in a game of cards. He returns to witness the decadence of the rule of Henri Christophe.

Ti Noel is the embodiment of the hope of the oppressed for not just simple revolution, but also for a kind of spiritual freedom-- following the original example set by Mackandal. There is a strong sense that this hope comes from embracing their original African spirituality and not from following the example set by the colonizing French.

While the material is certainly interesting, I had some problem finding a way to access the text. I am not sure if it is an artifact of the translation or Carpentier's voice itself, but I had the feeling that the prose was keeping me at a distance from the characters. I am inclined to think that this was done expressly. Carpentier uses a variety of literary devices which drive the reader away from identification-- short and choppy chapters, a variety of quotations, the magical realism so predominant in Latin American fiction of the time. I am sure that there are all kinds of valid structural and qualitative reasons why such an approach works with the material, but I often had the frustrating feeling of scrabbling at the surface of the text. I could not quite get my head under water. I admired the book, but I found that I had trouble liking it.

I had picked this up because I had wanted to read something by Carpentier. And now I have. I was impressed enough to want to go on and read further in his body of work. Leave a comment if you can recommend one of his books that perhaps is a little bit warmer, or more accessible. This should not be read as a slight on The Kingdom of the World. I am more than willing to admit that my issues with the novel are likely to be a sign of my shortcomings as a reader more than anything else.

The crux of the novel is the traumatic and brutal evolution of Haiti's history after liberation from the colonial French rule, when the black regime of King Henri Christophe, at first so promising, sinks into the same morass of social injustice as the former rulers. For years the blacks suffer the yoke of white oppression, clinging to their African gods, ritual superstitions the only balm to a tortured existence: "Oh father, my father, how long is the suffering?" The social order is built upon exploitation of the many for the comfort of the few, the servant class treated as beasts of burden, beaten, beheaded and used to slake the intemperate urges of white masters. A verdant jungle of natural beauty, Haiti has the appearance of paradise and, for the blacks, the reality of hell, the indulgence and decadence of the plantation owners in counterpoint to the misery of the enslaved.

History is revealed through the eyes of a slave, Ti Noel, and through him the social duplicity is exposed. Drawn to the tribal wisdom and ancestral stories of Macandal, Ti Noel reflects the yearning of the slave population for a release from long injustice. Resorting to folk wisdom, voodoo ceremonies and ancestral worship of ancient animus, Macandal whips his followers into a revolt that comes to fruition one fateful night, the drums of bloody opportunity beating across the island as machete-bearing slaves overrun the sleeping plantations, slaughtering all in their path, masters, livestock, women and children. Once the uprising is put down, the search for Macandal proves fruitless, although he is eventually discovered, captured and burned before the downcast eyes of the slaves. The believers see only Macandal's spirit rise from the flames, knowing he will return in other forms to guide them.

Having survived the treachery, Ti Noel's master escapes with him to Santiago de Cuba, where the he embarks on a life of decadence, the slave finally lost in a card game. Years later, returning to Haiti a free man, Ti Noel is confronted with a changed island, now ruled by King Henri Christophe, a black kingdom, the black royalty inflicting the same pain as the white masters, the natural enslavement of the powerless, Christophe's every achievement purchased on the backs of the oppressed. Ti Noel despairs this "endless cycle of chains", convinced that freedom is but an idea, a despot forever hovering in the wings of history. In brilliant imagery and bloody prose, Haiti's drama unfolds, the pomp and grandeur of the new regime constructed from the same contempt for human life as the French and destined fro the same destruction: insurrection fueled by madness and the slaughter of the oppressor. pp Luan Gaines/ 2006.

The crux of the novel is the traumatic and brutal evolution of Haiti's history after liberation from the colonial French rule, when the black regime of King Henri Christophe, at first so promising, sinks into the same morass of social injustice as the former rulers. For years the blacks suffer the yoke of white oppression, clinging to their African gods, ritual superstitions the only balm to a tortured existence: "Oh father, my father, how long is the suffering?" The social order is built upon exploitation of the many for the comfort of the few, the servant class treated as beasts of burden, beaten, beheaded and used to slake the intemperate urges of white masters. A verdant jungle of natural beauty, Haiti has the appearance of paradise and, for the blacks, the reality of hell, the indulgence and decadence of the plantation owners in counterpoint to the misery of the enslaved.

History is revealed through the eyes of a slave, Ti Noel, and through him the social duplicity is exposed. Drawn to the tribal wisdom and ancestral stories of Macandal, Ti Noel reflects the yearning of the slave population for a release from long injustice. Resorting to folk wisdom, voodoo ceremonies and ancestral worship of ancient animus, Macandal whips his followers into a revolt that comes to fruition one fateful night, the drums of bloody opportunity beating across the island as machete-bearing slaves overrun the sleeping plantations, slaughtering all in their path, masters, livestock, women and children. Once the uprising is put down, the search for Macandal proves fruitless, although he is eventually discovered, captured and burned before the downcast eyes of the slaves. The believers see only Macandal's spirit rise from the flames, knowing he will return in other forms to guide them.

Having survived the treachery, Ti Noel's master escapes with him to Santiago de Cuba, where the he embarks on a life of decadence, the slave finally lost in a card game. Years later, returning to Haiti a free man, Ti Noel is confronted with a changed island, now ruled by King Henri Christophe, a black kingdom, the black royalty inflicting the same pain as the white masters, the natural enslavement of the powerless, Christophe's every achievement purchased on the backs of the oppressed. Ti Noel despairs this "endless cycle of chains", convinced that freedom is but an idea, a despot forever hovering in the wings of history. In brilliant imagery and bloody prose, Haiti's drama unfolds, the pomp and grandeur of the new regime constructed from the same contempt for human life as the French and destined fro the same destruction: insurrection fueled by madness and the slaughter of the oppressor. Luan Gaines/ 2006.