The Kingdom of this World

I've just finished reading the El reino de este mundo, 'The Kingdom of this World' (1949) by Alejo Carpentier. 

Alejo Carpentier (1904-1980) was a Cuban writer and musicologist who lived in Europe from 1928-38. He returned to Cuba in 1939 to marry but disliking its political atmosphere chose to live in Venezuela instead. When the Cuban revolution occurred in 1959 he returned to become Vice-President of the National Council of Culture, Professor of the History of Culture and eventually Director of the Cuban State publishing House.

Carpentier's novella (112 pp.) is set in Haiti at the end of the eighteenth century. It describes the events in which African slaves fought French colonists for their freedom and human rights to establish a short-lived Black Republic. It's written from the perspective of the protagonist Ti Noel, a black slave who witnesses the events in Haiti first-hand.

Although Haiti achieved independence in 1804, the protagonist Ti Noel realizes that the newly-formed Republic is in some ways even worse than colonial rule, 'for the colonists... had at least been careful not to kill their slaves, for dead slaves were money out of their pockets'. Whereas in the new Black Republic the death of a slave is seen as an easily replaceable commodity, the high-birth rate ensuring a constant supply of new slaves. Thus as it ever was, the cry to defeat tyranny with freedom is replaced by the new ruling elite's justification of a new form of tyranny.

Alejo Carpentier's left-wing viewpoint on the human condition argues that-

....a man never knows for whom he suffers and hopes. He suffers and hopes and toils for people he will never know, and for 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 what 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.

Carpentier is credited with coining the term lo real maravilloso (roughly the "marvelous reality") in the prologue to 'The Kingdom of this World' and the novella is often cited as one of the very earliest examples of the genre of 'magic realism', in which reality and elements of fantasy are mixed to produce a cocktail of highly imaginative literature. Carpentier's familiarity with the Surrealist movement while living in Paris, his admiration of the Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes, his left-wing politics, interest in Voodoo and ethnicity, all amalgamate in 'The Kingdom of this World' to produce what is seen by many as one of the earliest examples of 'magical realism' writing.

The Argentinian author Jorge Luis Borges is credited as one of the key innovators of 'magic realism' writing in which aspects of reality are blurred with magical elements. The Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez's novel 'One hundred years of solitude' (1967) is also often cited as a seminal example of this genre. However, although 'magic realism' is frequently associated with the literature of South America, the human imagination transcends national boundaries.

Other novelists who have utilized elements of 'magic realism' in their writing include (and this inventory is far from inclusive) the Australian novelist Peter Carey's 'Illywhacker' (1985), Salman Rushdie's 'The Satanic Verses' (1988), Patrick Suskind's 'Perfume' (1985), Gunther Grass' 'The Tin Drum'(1959) and not least, the supreme worlk of Russian magical realism, if not the 20th century, Mikhail Bulgakov's 'The Master Margarita' (1940).

But in fact the employment of 'magical' or 'fantastic' elements in modern Literature, in particular English Literature can be traced as far back as Jonathan Swift's' 'Gulliver's Travels' (1735). 'Fantastic' or fantasy elements pervade English literary works, especially literature loved by children and adults alike, including Lewis Carroll's 'Alice in Wonderland' (1865), and Kenneth Grahame's 'The Wind in the Willows' (1908) .

Personally, dare I propose it, one of the greatest of all 'magical realism' writings is by an author whom Jorge Borges was a great admirer of, Sir Thomas Browne's 'The Garden of Cyrus' (1658). As T. S. Eliot long ago realized, 'Mankind cannot bear very much reality'.

Bus in a Hole

1988 - A surprise stop for the passengers of the number 26.
No-one was hurt.

Perhaps I should not have mentioned the other day that geologically Norfolk is predominantly composed of chalk, (Aug 7th post) because a new hole has now appeared in a Norwich road some 9 feet deep! Memories from 1988 when a double-Decker bus fell into a hole have now resurfaced. This world-famous image of an extraordinary event is well worth seeing again aS visible proof that living in Norwich can sometimes be exciting!

Norwich in fact  is renowned for having subsidence problems. Not only does it have many chalk mines, but also a network of tunnels underneath its streets and buildings, including more undercrofts than any other UK city.

It's possible that the chalk mines of Norwich date from as early as the 11th Century. Chalk was mined underneath the City and extracted in great quantities to burn into lime for mortar. Flint was also mined and used as stone for building. Mining tunnels known to exist under medieval Norwich can be found between 12 and 90 feet under the surface . They vary in size from 6 to 16 feet in height and from 6 to 12 feet in width . These tunnels and mines are often arranged in a grid-like pattern. City engineers have to regularly inspect these tunnels in order to determine their condition and to prevent any further collapses.

The most investigated system of these tunnels is a 1600-feet-square grid maze of tunnels beneath Earlham Road. It was re-discovered in 1823; coloured lights were fitted and some of the large passageways were given attractive names such as Beehive Lane, Bacchus Street and Royal Arch. They were once a popular attraction for tourists and local courting couples to wander through.

A full history and record of the extensive underground passages, undercrofts and mines in Norwich has yet to be written.

The Supper at Emmaeus

Here's another painting Sir Thomas Browne may have viewed. 'The Supper at Emmaus' by Cornelis Engelsz (1575-1650).

Its a great example of the Dutch 'Golden Age', of painting, combining two of the most popular of all Dutch genres, Biblical scenes and still-life. The detail of the various supper items depicted in the foreground, bread, fish and meat is exceptionally realistic. The central message of the picture is in the stark contrast between the very public, lavish and earthy supper in the foreground, to the private, frugal and heavenly supper depicted in the dimly-lit background. The Resurrected Christ, having broken bread has just revealed his identity to two of his disciples. (Luke 24 verses 13-35).

'The Supper at Emmaeus' (1612) was owned by the lawyer and MP Nathaniel Bacon (1550 - 1622) who was knighted in 1604. He was the uncle of Nicolas Bacon (1623-1666) also of Gillingham Hall. As Browne was a friend and visitor of Nicolas, even dedicating his Discourse 'The Garden of Cyrus' to him. it's highly possible he could have viewed this painting when visiting Gillingham Hall. The painting was subsequently purchased from the Bacon family by Norwich Castle Museum in 2004.

Hydrangea

Hydrangea thrive upon chalky soil of which there's plenty throughout the low-laying county of Norfolk.

The large hydrangea shrub in my garden is certainly over thirty years old, maybe as old as my plum and pear tree, planted when the houses and gardens of Woodlands Estate were first established early in the 1950's. I personally associate the large flowering heads with happy summer days spent with my grandmother as a child.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines hydrangea as - a shrub with flowering heads of white, blue or pink florets, native to Asia and America. Origin, mod. L. from Gk hudro -'water' + angeion 'vessel' (from the cup shape of its seed capsules).

Oscar and Lucinda

Last night I watched the film 'Oscar and Lucinda' (1997) directed by Gillian Armstrong. Set in the middle of the 19th century, it's the story of Oscar (Ralph Fiennes) the son of strict Plymouth Brethren parents and Lucinda (Cate Blanchett) an independent-minded Australian entrepreneur.

When attending Oxford reading theology, Oscar is introduced to the joys of gambling, specifically horse-racing. Frequently lucky and believing himself to be inspired by divine providence, the bumbling and socially-inept Oscar persists in donating his winnings to the poor. Meanwhile Lucinda discovers a passion for glass and purchases a Glass-works with an inheritance. Oscar and Lucinda first meet aboard a ship bound for Australia. The pretext for their meeting is ostensibly for the purpose for Lucinda's confessional, Oscar having recently been ordained and emigrating. The pair soon become friends with a shared passion for card-playing. Oscar's justification for gambling is that of the famous wager of Pascal which argues that all Christians are gambling their souls in hope of God's existence, love and redemption.

Without wanting to post spoilers, the crux of the romantic drama concerns a wager between Oscar and Lucinda of their respective inheritances, that Oscar can transport a glass Church from Sydney to Bellingen on the North-west coast of New South Wales, a journey which involves the crossing of no less than six rivers and hazardous terrain.

Based upon the Peter Carey novel which won the 1988 Booker prize, 'Oscar and Lucinda' is a film which established Cate Blanchett's acting career. The other notable star of this film is, as with 'Picnic at Hanging Rock' (Dir. Peter Weir 1975), the stunning Australian scenery. 'Oscar and Lucinda' also highlights the basic living conditions of the early Australian colonists.

The residue of Protestant ethics continues to associate gambling as a sin, even among those whose morality is no longer determined by Christian ethics whatsoever. This is primarily due to the fact that during the 18th century a day at the races spent gambling was viewed as a threat to the established social order. A Lord attending Newmarket races could by the day's end be a pauper and a pauper could acquire the wealth equivalent to a Lord. Primarily for this reason alone, the notion of acquiring wealth without industriousness, circumventing the Protestant work-ethic, preachers railed from the pulpit against the 'sin' of gambling. And to be fair, there is a scene in the film which highlights the very worst consequence of ruination from gambling, namely, suicide. However, as Oscar fully realises, many aspects of life and love are in fact far from being certainties, but very uncertain gambles in most lives.

At the present time of writing the author Peter Carey, who has won the Booker prize twice, is priced at 5-1 to win the Booker again, with the Greek-Australian Christos Tsiolkas, author of 'The Slap', priced at a 9-1. Personally, I'm considering having a small bet that Carey wins the Booker Prize for an unprecedented third time. Just don't put your shirt on it !