The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
It is snowing, snowing heavily, so I spent the evening finishing Barbara Kingsolver's new book, The Lacuna. What a beautiful story! The book is about so many things, I find it hard to narrow it down to a simple book recommendation. Harrison Shepherd, the shy, articulate narrator holds the book together. When young, he goes to Mexico with his mother after she divorces his father. There he lives with Rivera and Kahlo, artists of the time and cooks for their friend Trotsky who was in hiding from Stalin. I love stories where history is made understandable and new insight emerges. Thus it was.

Later Shepherd fled to the US to write novels and was caught in the net of the House of Unamerican activities Hearings. The fear and frustration of the time is laid bare. The scenes are moving and I leave the book still wrapped in its story.

A great novel, well researched and steeped in the imagination and beauty of Kingsolver. it starts slowly, so don't give up in the beginning.

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