Literary Realism 2: Alejo Carpentier - "El Siglo de las Luces"
About this episode
The episode explores Alejo Carpentier’s 'El Siglo de las Luces' through a discussion of its historical realism and narrative elements.
Welcome back to our jaunt through Alejo Carpentier’s “El siglo de las luces”, a maritime escapade in the Americas at the time of the French Revolution. With some of the literary theory covered already in episode 1, where we made the case for why this is a unique example of historical realism, we finally enjoy retelling the arc of the story and reading sections of its lurid prose. A deserted island boar feast, a guillotine being rowed into Guadalupe’s bay by starlight, former revolutionaries r...
People in this episode
Host: After the 'End of History
Topics covered
- literary realism
- historical fiction
- French Revolution
- Caribbean history
- literary analysis
Keywords
- Alejo Carpentier
- El Siglo de las Luces
- historical realism
- French Revolution
- literary theory
- Caribbean
- narrative analysis
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: El Siglo de las Luces
Places: Guadalupe
More episodes of After the ‘End of History’
- The Long Arc of History Bends Toward Realism: A Conversation with Christopher Mott
- Marx's "Herr Vogt" - Ep. 2, Part 2 - Spies in the Workers' Movement
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