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What book did you just start?
By Stephanie · 3501 posts · 467 views
By Stephanie · 3501 posts · 467 views
last updated Feb 27, 2024 08:11PM
What Members Thought
I really liked the first part (roughly half) of this book about a boy (Harrison)who is being raised by a mother who eeks out an existence by sponging off the men she manages to ensnare. The setting is 1930's Mexico. Mexican artists Diego Rivera and his wife Frida Kahlo are an integral part of the story, as is Lev Trotsky (leader of the Bolshevik Revolution and Rivera's friend and houseguest).
The second half of the book completely switches gears. The setting is Asheville NC where Harrison is liv ...more
The second half of the book completely switches gears. The setting is Asheville NC where Harrison is liv ...more
Kingsolver painted a colorful landscape of Mexico and the United States, which depicted the cultural and political climate of the years leading up to and following WWII. Kingsolver laid the foundation of her story by using actual news clippings to establish "facts" about the political times. She then artfully created the fictional character of Harrison Shepard, a poor young man of mixed Mexican/American descent, who dreamed of writing epic historicals; and placed him in the household of artists,
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The Lacuna contains two very distinct parts. One features a vibrant Mexican landscape with the equally colorful personalities of Rivera, Kahlo, and Trotsky. The other centers more on Harrison's reclusive existence in small-town America and his battle with the House Un-American Activities Committee. Despite the prodigious research that both parts exhibit, critics clearly preferred the former, marveling at Kingsolver's lyrical passages and her expert recreation of 1930s Mexico. A few reviewers als
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I gave this 4 1/2 stars in my rating system. When I first started reading this book I wasn't sure how interested I was going to be in Mexican history but, Kingsolver's writing style and great storytelling ability drew me in and piqued my interest in the historical aspects of the book. I've rented the movie Frida and plan to check the library for articles on Trotsky's exile. I do agree with other reviewers that the two halves were quite different, but I thoroughly enjoyed both halves. I would say
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I'm not kidding. I'm not sure what happened, but I thoroughly did NOT enjoy this book. I was bored out of my skull & believe me, this rarely happens when I read a book. I loved "Poisonwood Bible"..it's in my '5-star books'. 'The Lacuna' is like 500 pages of unbelievable boredom. I literally forced myself to read this entire book & think this may be part of my spike in being depressed more than usual. Ugh! Man..unless you enjoy slow torture, I would not recommend this book to anyone! Go ahead & b
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I really enjoyed the story - we have Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Lev Trotsky, glimpses of Mexican and American history in the 1920's thru the early 1950's. I also loved the writing - and the insights into freedom of the press, the politicaql relationships between communism and not communism in those eras, even into variations of communism in the early days. I think the book allows great insight into current politics - not that they are at all the same, but the ideas of freedom of the press and pa
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Sigh. I've gotten about 3/4 of the way through the book. I really like it so far. However, I put it down over Thanksgiving vacation and have not been inspired to pick it back up again. And it's due back to the library. So I'm giving up on it for the time being. I'd like to give it another shot later. It's an interesting story but I find myself picking it up and forcing myself to read. It's Kingsolver. I really like her other novels. But this didn't call to me to finish right it now.
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I wanted to like this book -- I love Kingsolver's earlier works -- but this one left me cold.
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Oct 26, 2009
Julie
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