Search - The Lacuna

Very very disappointed in reading this book. I have absolutely loved Barbara Kingsolver, especially her earlier books. Found this very boring to read. Persevered through half the book and then just gave up. Does not hold your interest at all and the way it is written as a diary does not do it for me.

Would give this one a pass

Barbara Kingsolver has written possibly the most thought provoking novels I have read. I purchased this book when it first came out and to this day I find myself contemplating the meaning of The Lacuna, "the void between the truth and public perception." A wonderful read that I highly recommend.

This was my first foray into Kingsolver's writing. Friends raved about the Poisonwood Bible, so we selected this for our fairly new book club. Only 3 of 7 members persevered through it. The leading chapters, in which Harrison Shephard is a young boy, seem endless. His youth in the household of Kahlo and Rivera, and later Trotsky, was interesting, but one starts to grasp that his role is that of (dull) observer to troubled times. Conversations in cars, by streams, on trips, contain lovely insights into the nature of art, but they just go on and on and on. She writes good dialogue and provides fascinating historical glimpses into the mindset of the McCarthy era, but a novel should be more than a walk down the lanes of yesteryear. Yawn. If this was edited down by 1/3, maybe I would recommend it.

Another great book by Barbara Kingsolver.

The Lacuna is set in the cold war era in Mexico and in the US. Kingsolver weaves in history lessons, art lessons, cooking lessons, and writing lessons in crafting a beautiful tale of a Mexican-American writer, Harrison Shepherd. Shepherd spends his early life soaking up art and life lessons from Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, then faces the perils of the Communist blacklists when he returns to the country of his birth. Kingsolver gives voice to the characters of Shepherd's early life, as well as the to Violet Brown, a back country-bred secretary who takes on the responsibility of guarding Shepherd's legacy. Each contributes in their own essential way to Shepherd's ultimate fate, and each becomes an individual through the considerable talents of Ms. Kingsolver. Beautifully written, historically accurate, and a compelling story - what else could one ask for in a contemporary novel?