March 13, 2012


Dear Alejo,

I wanted to address my troubles with understanding the different narrative perspectives in your novel The Kingdom of this World.  I consistently found myself re-reading over the sections in an attempt to fully understand what was being discussed.  Specifically, seen on pages 178 and 179, I am confused as to who is speaking about T’ Noel?
What I see happening is a possible higher being speaking, separate from T’ Noel  physically or mentally.  I believe this paragraph searches beyond the obvious third person narrative and beyond simply another, human, narrator speaking.  For example, towards the end of the paragraph the narrator reveals, “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”.  This statement affirms a possible higher being or entity discussing matters that goes beyond the minds of humans.  This entity also states that man finds his greatness, his fullest measure, in this “Kingdom”.  These statements lead me to believe, the narrator discussing T’ Noel, is actually T’ Noel’s soul.
I fully and whole heartedly enjoyed reading and struggling with your novel, The Kingdom of this World.  Although the material was difficult to comprehend, I enjoyed the challenge.  This was my first experience with a novel so heavily influenced by magical realism, but I enjoyed it non the less.



Sincere Regards,

Connor P. Maund