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Set in Cuba at the time of the French Revolution, this novel aims to capture the immense changes sweeping the Caribbean at the turn of the 19th century - complete with its wars, sea-life and people. The author - who was amongst the first to use "magic realism" - has also written "The Chase".
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Carpentier (1904-1980) has a curiously muted reputation in the UK, but his status as one of the major Latin American novelists is readily substantiated, even in translation. Publishers with an eye-to-a-sale often describe him as a magical realist, but this is misleading... especially so with 'Explosion in a Cathedral', which is a thumping great catamaran of a novel that seeks to pitch a sail between historical events and a fiction born of Carpentier's own convictions. The history is concerned with the effect of the French Revolution on the Caribbean islands, principally through Victor Hugues who (for a fact) brought the ideals of the revolution - including emancipation - to Guadeloupe. Hugues' life is outlined through his impact on the orphaned family (brother, sister and cousin) of a rich South American merchant all of whom variously carry the narrative. Like a snake repeatedly shedding its skin the story slips from claustrophobic family saga to ocean-going adventure yarn to historical re-enactment. It's a heady brew, even if it doesn't quite manage the fictional apotheosis of becoming more than the sum of its parts. Carpentier's outstanding characteristic is a sadly unfashionable gift for lengthy and ornate descriptive passages that fuse his recondite vocabulary with an incandescent imagination. He also sports a Latin American chauvinism (incorporating much Roman Catholic baggage) and an ambivalence towards civilisation - which is regularly pitched against the insidious primevalism of both sex and Nature. 'Explosion in a Cathedral' incorporates all these elements. The title is actually different from the original Spanish (which translates as 'A Century of Light' ) and refers to a - routinely misnamed - painting by Monsú Desiderio which shows a church caught in the process of collapsing. The painting is a symbol for the impossibility of change. The injustices of human culture are unaffected by the disastrous extremism of the Jacobins, just as the church remains curiously frozen in the act of collapsing. An older, more cynical Hugues eventually oversees the return by Napoleonic decree of slavery in the Caribbean, while the idealistic young family - for all its suffering - has no more impact on events than surfers do on the sea. At a time when violence is again being visited overseas to pursue 'noble ends' this should be a more widely read book; it's a pity that it hasn't quite got the novelistic force that its author evidently hoped for.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This a wonderful, sprawling adventure that takes you through momentous historical events and magical and exotic locations. I did a degree in Hispanic literature many moons ago and this, along with 100 Years of Solitude, are my all time favourite Latin American novels. I've no idea why it's not better known in the UK. It's a great romp that poses questions about how individuals and ideas can shape, and be shaped by, history. Really enjoyable.
Format:Paperback
I read "Explosion...." ("El siglo de las luces", in Spanish)again after 20 years! I read it for the first time when I was 18, and I found it even more interesting especially all the issues regarding Revolutions, ideas, betrayals... (I am Cuban, but living in the UK now). The description of Havana, Caribbean Sea and Antilles is simply extraorinary.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Wonderful piece of magical realism
We're all probably familiar with Gabriel Garcia Marquez, but here's a novel of very similar style by an author who was entirely new to me. Read more
Published on 20 July 2005 by Andy Dingley
The name is a mislead to its brilliant original title in
Spanish: "El siglo de las Luces". This book is a fantastic example of latinoamerican literature at its max. Read more
Published on 17 Jun 2002 by Elaluf Calderwood
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