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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Started off slow, ended up funny and beautiful and perfect.
challenging
funny
hopeful
informative
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This book was fabulous in the beginning and the end. Part of the middle kind of drug. However, all in all it was a great book.
I just got stuck in the middle and haven't been able to finish it... it stopped holding my attention for some reason. hoping to come back to it soon.
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I started The Lacuna immediately after finishing Poisonwood Bible; so the slow burn of the first part of The Lacuna was a jarring change of pace that stopped me in my tracks. Fortunately, once the characters and story evolves, so does the amount of things there are to love about this book. It's a beautiful exploration of people, ideas, art, and culture.
I'm about to jump into my Frida Kahlo era, I fear.
This is my third Kingsolver book and I'm 3 for 3 on enjoyment so far.
I'm about to jump into my Frida Kahlo era, I fear.
This is my third Kingsolver book and I'm 3 for 3 on enjoyment so far.
To read any book with expectations is to do the book a great injustice (of course I have been guilty of this myself), but it just might be especially precarious to do so with this book. This book doesn't follow the guidelines of prescribed storytelling. It is more like a collage, but even that isn't accurate. Maybe a dusty box full of items collected over time (?).
I loved that the main character (a storyteller himself) explains that, in any story, the beginning and end should be close together, because Kingsolver did just that. The story in between takes its own time to unfurl and bestows beautiful prose along the way. The reason I gave it 4 stars is this: while I didn't hate the portrayal of the historical figures, it made me uncomfortable to read so much dialogue with them- to have them so fleshed out... seemed .... wrong. Kingsolver took pains to honor them, but the act itself feels dishonorable regardless of which author tries their hand at this game. Otherwise- a beautiful, meandering story that highlights history in the Americas at a very interesting time.
I loved that the main character (a storyteller himself) explains that, in any story, the beginning and end should be close together, because Kingsolver did just that. The story in between takes its own time to unfurl and bestows beautiful prose along the way. The reason I gave it 4 stars is this: while I didn't hate the portrayal of the historical figures, it made me uncomfortable to read so much dialogue with them- to have them so fleshed out... seemed .... wrong. Kingsolver took pains to honor them, but the act itself feels dishonorable regardless of which author tries their hand at this game. Otherwise- a beautiful, meandering story that highlights history in the Americas at a very interesting time.
“An imperfectly remembered life is a useless treachery. Every day, more fragments of the past roll around heavily in the chambers of an empty brain, shedding bits of color, a sentence or a fragrance, something that changes and then disappears.”
The imagined life of Harrison Shepherd, a dual national of both Mexico and the US he is inserted into the story of Mexico at its height of nationalistic fervour, rediscovering itself and its past and reclaiming its heritage. He meets Kahlo and mixes plaster for Rivera’s murals before becoming a secretary for Trotsky.
Inserting Harrison Shepherd into this circle is a master stroke, the narrative device of his journals allowing him to document key interactions and pass commentary on the events he witnesses around him.
His dual nationality is also a blessing and a curse, allowing him to escape where needed, but is it really escape if he never feels truly at home anywhere?
The novel explores themes such as belonging, acceptance, and looks at the McCarthy trials and the army service exemptions for sexual deviance in a sensitive fashion.
I really enjoyed this and would look to read more by Kingsolver!
The imagined life of Harrison Shepherd, a dual national of both Mexico and the US he is inserted into the story of Mexico at its height of nationalistic fervour, rediscovering itself and its past and reclaiming its heritage. He meets Kahlo and mixes plaster for Rivera’s murals before becoming a secretary for Trotsky.
Inserting Harrison Shepherd into this circle is a master stroke, the narrative device of his journals allowing him to document key interactions and pass commentary on the events he witnesses around him.
His dual nationality is also a blessing and a curse, allowing him to escape where needed, but is it really escape if he never feels truly at home anywhere?
The novel explores themes such as belonging, acceptance, and looks at the McCarthy trials and the army service exemptions for sexual deviance in a sensitive fashion.
I really enjoyed this and would look to read more by Kingsolver!