Explosion in a Cathedral (El Siglo de las Luces) [1962] – ★★★★★

When Victor Hugues, a merchant sailor, enters the quiet life of a trio of adolescent orphans, bringing with him revolutionary spirit and new ideas, they do not immediately suspect the consequences of their newest attachment or the corrupting influence he will unleash. Left directionless after the death of their father, ambitious Carlos, grounded Sofia, and feeble, asthma-prone daydreamer Esteban are taken in by this stranger who has vivid tales to tell them of his Caribbean exploits. Soon, the orphans are entangled in an adventure that takes them across the Caribbean as an insurrection is brewing in Port-au-Prince. This is a magnificent novel with wondrous, erudite prose that, as is usual with Carpentier, is all about that fine line between freedom and slavery, the liberator and the enslaver, and violence and peace.

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