''Explosion in a Cathedral'' (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: ** Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Ca ...

title:

El Siglo de las Luces EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...

, ''"The Age of Enlightenment" '') is a historical novel by

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

n writer and musicologist

Alejo Carpentier Alejo Carpentier y Valmont (, ; December 26, 1904 – April 24, 1980) was a Cuban novelist, essayist, and musicologist who greatly influenced Latin American literature during its famous "boom" period. Born in Lausanne, Switzerland, of French a ...

. The book follows the story of three privileged Creole orphans from

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, as they meet French adventurer

Victor Hugues Jean-Baptiste Victor Hugues sometimes spelled Hughes (July 20, 1762 in Marseille – August 12, 1826 in Cayenne) was a French politician and colonial administrator during the French Revolution, who governed Guadeloupe from 1794 to 1798, emancip ...

and get involved in the revolutionary turmoil that shook the

Atlantic World The Atlantic World comprises the interactions among the peoples and empires bordering the Atlantic Ocean rim from the beginning of the Age of Discovery to the early 19th century. Atlantic history is split between three different contexts: trans-A ...

at the end of the eighteenth century. Originally published in

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wo ...

, this is one of the most influential works written during the so-called "

Latin American Boom The Latin American Boom ( es, Boom latinoamericano) was a literary movement of the 1960s and 1970s when the work of a group of relatively young Latin American novelists became widely circulated in Europe and throughout the world. The Boom is mo ...

". Regarded as one of Latin America's greatest historical novels, ''Explosion in a Cathedral'' deals with the impact of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

on the Caribbean.Swanson, Philip. ''Latin American Fiction: A Short Introduction'', Blackwell Publishing, 2004, p. 78. The main characters are all members of one family: two siblings, Carlos and Sofia, and their cousin Esteban.Pope, Randolph D. "The Spanish American Novel from 1950 to 1975", in ''The Cambridge History of Latin American Literature'', Vol. 2, ed. Roberto Gonzalez Echevarria and Enrique Pupo-Walker, Cambridge University Press, 1996, p. 249. The narrative deals with the cyclical nature of control, destruction, and development during revolution.Franco, Jean. ''The Decline and Fall of the Lettered City: Latin America in the Cold War'', Harvard University Press, 2002, pp. 168-9. Stylistically, it contains elements of

existentialism Existentialism ( ) is a form of philosophical inquiry that explores the problem of human existence and centers on human thinking, feeling, and acting. Existentialist thinkers frequently explore issues related to the meaning Meaning most comm ...

and

magical realism Magical is the adjective for magic. It may also refer to: * Magical (horse) (foaled 2015), Irish Thoroughbred racehorse * "Magical" (song), released in 1985 by John Parr * '' Magical: Disney's New Nighttime Spectacular of Magical Celebrations'', ...

,Wood, Michael. "Spanish America", in ''The Oxford Guide to Contemporary World Literature'', Ed. John Sturrock, Oxford University Press, 1997, p. 394. and it mirrors the tension between Europe and Latin America found in many of Carpentier's other works.Pope, p. 250

References

1962 novels 20th-century Cuban novels Books about revolutions Novels by Alejo Carpentier Cuban magic realism novels Novels about orphans Novels set in the Caribbean {{1960s-hist-novel-stub