A magical realist before the term gained currency, Cuban author Alejo Carpentier brought surrealism to the telling of Haiti’s terrible history in his 1949 novella
The new translation by Cuban-born poet Pablo Medina is a beautifully wrought tale of the revolt by Haiti’s slaves against their morally degraded masters, which began a cycle of slavery under whatever name by new sets of masters.
The Kingdom of This World is strikingly sensual—the words come alive with touch and sight, smell and sound.
