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Alejo Carpentier’s Followers (539)

Alejo Carpentier

Born

in Lausanne, Switzerland

December 26, 1904

Died

April 24, 1980

Genre

Literature & Fiction, Historical Fiction, Politics

Influences

Rubén Darío, Marcel Proust, Miguel Angel Asturias, Victor Hugo, André ...more

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Writings of Cuban author, musicologist, and diplomat Alejo Carpentier influenced the development of magical realism; his novels include El siglo de las luces! (1962) and The Kingdom of This World (1949).

Alejo Carpentier Blagoobrasoff, an essayist, greatly influenced Latin American literature during its "boom" period.

Perhaps most important intellectual figure of the 20th century, this classically trained pianist and theorist of politics and literature produced avant-garde radio programming. Best known Carpentier also collaborated with such luminaries as Igor Stravinsky, Darius Milhaud, Georges Bataille, and Antonin Artaud. With Havana, he strongly self-identified throughout his life. People jailed and exiled him, who lived for many ...more

Combine Editions
Alejo Carpentier’s books

Average rating: 3.86 · 23,067 ratings · 2,284 reviews · 206 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Kingdom of This World by Alejo Carpentier, Harriet de Onís (Translator) 3.78 avg rating — 8,631 ratings — published 1949 — 176 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Lost Steps by Alejo Carpentier, Harriet de Onís (Translator) 3.90 avg rating — 3,827 ratings — published 1953 — 181 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	El siglo de las luces 4.11 avg rating — 3,589 ratings — published 1962 — 154 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Concierto barroco by Alejo Carpentier, Gonzalo Celorio (Prologue by) 3.76 avg rating — 1,307 ratings — published 1974 — 60 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	El arpa y la sombra 3.72 avg rating — 760 ratings — published 1979 — 56 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Viaje a la semilla 3.94 avg rating — 708 ratings — published 1944 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	El recurso del método 4.06 avg rating — 602 ratings — published 1974 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Chase 3.49 avg rating — 564 ratings — published 1956 — 53 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	La consagración de la primavera 4.34 avg rating — 360 ratings — published 1978 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Guerra del tiempo y otros relatos 3.91 avg rating — 303 ratings — published 1958 — 42 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Alejo Carpentier…

Quotes by Alejo Carpentier (?)

“Now he understood that a man never knows for whom he suffers and hopes. He suffers and hopes and toils for people he will never know, and who, in turn, will suffer and hope and toil for others who will not be happy either, for man always seeks a happiness far beyond that which is meted out to him. But man's greatness consists in the very fact of wanting to be better than he is. In laying duties upon himself. In the Kingdom of Heaven there is no grandeur to be won, inasmuch as there all is an established hierarchy, the unknown is revealed, existence is infinite, there is no possibility of sacrifice, all is rest and joy. For this reason, bowed down by suffering and duties, beautiful in the midst of his misery, capable of loving in the face of afflictions and trials, man finds his greatness, his fullest measure, only in the Kingdom of this World.”
― Alejo Carpentier, The Kingdom of This World

41 likes

“The truth was much more beautiful.”
― Alejo Carpentier, The Lost Steps

18 likes

“In America everything is fantastical.”
― Alejo Carpentier, Concierto barroco

tags: america

15 likes

See all Alejo Carpentier's quotes »

Polls

July 2026 New School Classics Poll

A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute, 1950, 359 pgs.

39 votes, 29.1%

Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann, 1966, 448 pgs.

34 votes, 25.4%

The Slaves of Solitude by Patrick Hamilton, 1947, 242 pgs.

17 votes, 12.7%

Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky, 2004, 395 pgs.

17 votes, 12.7%

Three Comrades by Erich Maria Remarque, 1936, 496 pgs.

14 votes, 10.4%

Explosion in a Cathedral by Alejo Carpentier, 1962, 336 pgs.

8 votes, 6.0%

Petals of Blood by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, 1977, 432 pgs.

5 votes, 3.7%

134 total votes

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