The Lacuna

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In her most accomplished novel, Barbara Kingsolver takes us on an epic journey from the Mexico City of artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo to the America of Pearl Harbor, FDR, and J Edgar Hoover The Lacuna is a poignant story of a man pulled between two nations as they invent their modern identities Born in the United States, reared in a series of provisional households in Mexico from a coastal island jungle to 1930s Mexico City Harrison Shepherd finds precarious shelter but no sense of home on his thrilling odyssey Life is whatever he learns from housekeepers who put him to work in the kitchen, errands he runs in the streets, and one fateful day, by mixing plaster for famed Mexican muralist Diego Rivera He discovers a passion for Aztec history and meets the exotic, imperious artist Frida Kahlo, who will become his lifelong friend When he goes to work for Lev Trotsky, an exiled political leader fighting for his life, Shepherd inadvertently casts his lot with art and revolution, newspaper headlines and howling gossip, and a risk of terrible violence Meanwhile, to the north, the United States will soon be caught up in the internationalist goodwill of World War II There in the land of his birth, Shepherd believes he might remake himself in America s hopeful image and claim a voice of his own He finds support from an unlikely kindred soul, his stenographer, Mrs Brown, who will be far valuable to her employer than he could ever know Through darkening years, political winds continue to toss him between north and south in a plot that turns many times on the unspeakable breach the lacuna between truth and public presumption With deeply compelling characters, a vivid sense of place, and a clear grasp of how history and public opinion can shape a life, Barbara Kingsolver has created an unforgettable portrait of the artist and of art itself The Lacuna is a rich and daring work of literature, establishing its author as one of the most provocative and important of her time. Best Read [ The Lacuna ] by [ Barbara Kingsolver ] – kino-fada.fr I hated this book I couldn t even finish it I started it and had so much trouble reading it that I put it down and didn t even want to pick it back up Curious, I went to Goodreads to see what other people had said about it Surprisingly, a lot of people loved it A couple of people couldn t finish it, but the majority gave it good reviews So I thought I d give it another try Ugh For the life of me, I couldn t figure out its appeal I just Googled it and found a NPR review that made me feel I hated this book I couldn t even finish it I started it and had so much trouble reading it that I put it down and didn t even want to pick it back up Curious, I went to Goodreads to see what other people had said about it Surprisingly, a lot of people loved it A couple of people couldn t finish it, but the majority gave it good reviews So I thought I d give it another try Ugh For the life of me, I couldn t figure out its appeal I just Googled it and found a NPR review that made me fe...The Lacuna is really two books One, the latter, is quite engaging, with a well written historical perspective, emotional content, a bit of action The other is an overlong back story, very light on involvement, written as if the author was watching the events and characters from behind a cloud Considering that the stable of characters includes Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, it takes some effort to make them dull.The Lacuna is Kingsolver s attempt at a grand historical novel She begins in 1929 The Lacuna is really two books One, the latter, is quite engaging, with a well written historical perspective, emotional content, a bit of action The other is an overlong back story, very light on involvement, written as if the author was watching the events and characters from behind a cloud Considering that the stable of characters includes Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, it takes some effort to make them dull.The Lacuna is Kingsolver s attempt at a grand historical novel She begins in 1929 in ...The story is told as the collected journals of Harrison Shepherd, put together after his death by his secretary and friend Violet Brown Beginning with his childhood, just before WorldWar2 , as his mexican mother leaves his american father and takes him with her back to mexico Harrison writes his journals because he can t help but write, like other people cannot help breathing, he is destined to become an author one day.Harrison s childhood is surreally beautiful, the problems of his chain smo The story is told as the collected journals of Harrison Shepherd, put together after his death by his secretary and friend Violet Brown Beginning with his childhood, just before WorldWar2 , as his mexican mother leaves his american father and takes him with her back to mexico Harrison writes his journals because he can t help but write, like other people cannot help breathing, he is destined to become an author one day.Harrison s childhood is surreally beautiful, the problems of his chain smoking, gold digging mother are distant His journals are all in the 3rd person, nothing ever happens directly to Harrison It s like looking at everything from underwater.Harrison gets a job mixing plaster for the famous mexican muralist Diego Rivera and his wife Frieda Kahlo which gradually turns into a job as a cook, and then also a secretary T...I had the privilege of listening to Kingsolver read this aloud as well as reading the printI love her Her voice and her style of narration, her perfectly articulated words and sounds all captivated me instantly Hearing V.B s voice as Kingsolver intended it is what made me want to just hug Violet Brown The characters were so lovable even though I d never want to hang out with Harrison or Violet in real life, but Trotsky definitely.I have heard people say that this book had a political ag I had the privilege of listening to Kingsolver read this aloud as well as reading the printI love her Her voice and her style of narration, her perfectly articulated words and sounds all captivated me instantly Hearing V.B s voice as Kingsolver intended it is what made me want to just hug Violet Brown The characters were so lovable even though I d never want to hang out with Harrison or Violet in real life, but Trotsky definitely.I have heard people say that this book had a political agenda I have to disagree I believe that this novel, although centered around politics, is about humans, while politics never seem to be This novel did not turn me into a socialist, a communist, an anti communist, or a hater of capitalism, but it did make me want to embrace all kinds of people It made me yearn to learnabout and to listen to people I don t know, and especially those that I think I know about Because I don t really The best part about someone...Placed in context with Kingsolver s other books this is essentially worthless She turns Freida Kahlo into the most magical pixie dream girl ever and gives us a main character so thoroughly desexed and generally grey that one sort of imagines him as a Ken doll, completely generic and non threating in every possible way And I KNOW that s sort of the point of the main character, but still, he is pretty much one of the least enjoyable protagonists I ve ever read since all you do is spend time with Placed in context with Kingsolver s other books this is essentially worthless She turns Freida Kahlo into the most magical pix...Yep, Barbara Kingsolver does it again, with a book that almost demands that you keep reading This is the story of Harrison William Shepherd, the son of a Mexican mother, and an American father The father is indifferent to the boy, and his mother longs for romance and adventure, so she returns to Mexico with the boy.The book is written as if it is a diary or journal of Harrison s life from his earliest memories He details his life in Mexico, where through a series of events, he becomes the coo Yep, Barbara Kingsolver does it again, with a book that almost demands that you keep reading This is the story of Harrison William Shepherd, the son of a Mexican mother, and an American father The father is indifferent to the boy, and his mother longs for romance and adventure, so she returns to Mexico with the boy.The book is written as if it is a diary or journal of Harrison s life from his earliest memories He details his life in Mexico, where through a series of events, he becomes the co...I don t give a book the 5 stars without much consideration This author s beautiful language and the things she taught me make Lacuna very special to me.I found myself in the bright and colorful world of Frida Kahlo s Mexico, and the gloomy sphere of the iron curtain and our country s disturbing consequences of McCarthyism A real work of art that took me away from my cozy home.It s not a quick read or one you can put down without considering all the circumstances of all the main characters Hop I d...Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Mexico, Leo Trotsky, Committee on Unamerican Activities The Lacuna is a wealth of information on these topics But it s outstanding feature is it s narrator, Harrison Shepherd Mexican American, cook, sometime secretary, novelist and gay Kingsolver s wonderful telling of his tale and those whose lives cross his path is insightful, humorous and full of pathos I was, by turn, amused then saddened by his story Harrison may have been a fictional character but many live Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Mexico, Leo Trotsky, Committee on Unamerican Activities The Lacuna is a wealth of information on these topics But it s outstanding feature is it s n...About a week before I started reading Lacuna, my friend asked me when I thought Barbara Kingsolver was going to write a gay character Little did we knowThe fascinating part of Shepherd s homosexuality, of his entire character really, is how it is revealed Slowly, carefully, the way we had to peel away the thinest possible onion skins to put on slides in my 6th grade science class Most of this story is told through Shepherd s journal entries, entries in which the pronoun I is notably lack About a week before I started reading Lacuna, my friend asked me when I thought Barbara Kingsolver was going to write a gay character Little did we knowThe fascinating part of Shepherd s homosexuality, of his entire character really, is how it is revealed Slowly, carefully, the way we had to peel away the thinest possible onion skins to put on slides in my 6th grade science class Most of this story is told through Shepherd s journal entries, entries in which the pronoun I is notably lacking It s through his descriptions of everyone and everything around him that we come to know our protagonist A delicate business, Babs, but one you do so well.For those enad with Kingsolver s lyrical prose, this latest and greatest work might be a bit of a stretch Shepherd is a poet and though his journals often reflect that, the book is presented as a collection of nonfiction journal entries, newspaper articles, and archivist s notes Kingsolver bats her character and reader from Frieda and Diego s ...3 1 2 starsThe two sections of this book are different enough that it could almost be reviewed as two separate books They really are THAT different.First 275 pages or so 4 starsFinal 230 pages or so 2 stars Kingsolver is at the peak of her descriptive powers in the first part of the book Her bright, lively detailing of Harrison s early life in Mexico compensates for the patchiness of the narration Add to that the real characters of Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Lev Leon Trotsky, and it 3 1 2 starsThe two sections of this book are different enough that it could almost be reviewed as two separate books They really are THAT different.First 275 pages or so 4 starsFinal 230 pages or so 2 stars Kingsolver is at the peak of her descriptive powers in the first part of the book Her bright, lively detailing of Harrison s early life in Mexico compensates for the patchiness of the narration Add to that the real characters of Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Lev Leon Trotsky, and it makes for an intriguing story The second part is so drab by comparison that it s almost a chore to get through The dullness is compounded by a lack of narrative flow Try making a story from a collection of letters, news articles, and journal entries Not too appealing I understand Kingsolver s agenda for the book Nothing wrong with that It s honorable to promote one s concerns and ideas through fiction In the latter part of The Lacuna, however, I think her ne...

The Lacuna
  • English
  • 06 February 2017
  • Hardcover
  • 508 pages
  • 0060852577
  • Barbara Kingsolver
  • The Lacuna