The Incredible Wedding of a Dictator - Horacio A Hernández - Bog

The Incredible Wedding of a Dictator by Horacio A Hernandez. This novel is interesting for the eclectic way it introduces its narrative elements; it is a kind of mock epic, for the satirical way the main character is introduced. The main character is a typical dictator in the Caribbean. The secondary characters need to be interpreted in an allegorical way. There is a mystery in the way the dictator meet his wife, and in the way she is metamorphosed into a mare (the beast) and that strange relationship produced two offspring. The two children are two centaurs which at the beginning became the central of attraction of the whole nation; however, gradually, they became the same like their father; their evil influences begin to be felt all over the country. The novel starts with two friends sharing their manuscripts describing one of the first European settlements in the Americas; that place is fictionalized with the name of Dolorosa Village. This village is very well described with all its history, folklore and myths from its foundation. One of the two friends claimed that he have found the original Journal of Christopher Columbus; he also describes all the differences in this original manuscript with the historical version that everybody know about Christopher Columbus; in this work, the character of this dictator is very well developed through all of his political tricks to keep his power, and the cruelty of his actions; a very important part of this novel is the extravagant celebration of his wedding. On the other hand, we witness the struggle of the hero against the dictatorship; this character is not as well developed as the character of the dictator; but it is clearly understood, and a meaningful part of this novel. It is very sad to see the exodus of the younger generation in the community caused by the state of repression created by the dictator. Another interested part of this work is the apocalyptic ending of all the evil influences of the dictator caused by the destruction of a great tsunami. The whole novel is a description of the struggle between good versus evil. The historical perspective is introduced through the leitmotiv of the manuscript and two important comets that occurred during the early twenty century. Finally, the novel closes with an epilog, where the two friends does a scrutiny of all the books published during the dictatorship. This book will be perfect for any person interested in reading literature: historical fiction, magic realism, religion, mythology, folklore, etc. all these features are esthetically and stylistically designed to entertain the readers and make them laugh.