The following questions are taken from your blog posts…
How did you think the idea of revolution in this novel compared to other novels we’ve read such as The Underdogs?
Is magical realism a style which has always been a vital component of describing most Latin culture, as shown through Carpentier and Marquez, or simply a modern phenomenon which transcends region?
If written in the first person, how do you think the text would change?
How much does an author’s origin affect their ability to write about somewhere else?
Why do you think the author chose to illuminate Ti noel’s ending transformation using the pact of geese? Do you think there is a deeper significance to the geese that helps guide Ti Noel to his revelation or do you believe there would be another animal that could have had the same effect on Ti Noel?
Alejo Carpentier–philosophically–is probably a mystic. Especially after that intro. But then again, isn’t that what some writers are? In some type of union or bond with reality. What do you think?
What do you think of the final messages on pages 130 and 131? Do you think an adherence to adversity is our greatest strength?
For you, were there any particular events or scenes from the book that exemplified what “magic realism” could be?
How do others feel about the way you experience history in your own lives? Do you ever feel as if you are really taking part in history or is it always something distant and inaccessible?