
El siglo de las luces / Explosion in a Cathedral
Novel , 1962
Cátedra
Pages: 420
A swashbuckling tale set in the Caribbean at the time of the French Revolution, Explosion in a Cathedral (El siglo de las luces) focuses on Victor Hugues, a historical figure who led the naval assault to take back the island of Guadeloupe from the English at the beginning of the nineteenth century. In Carpentier's telling, this piratical character walks into the lives of the wealthy orphans Esteban and Sofia and casts them abruptly into the midst of the immense changes sweeping the world outside their Havana mansion.