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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
3.5 stars: 4 stars for the first half 2 for the second.
This is a long and interesting book filled with real life historical characters intertwined with the life story of the protagonist told via diary entries, journals, news clippings etc.
I really enjoyed the first half, set in Mexico. Kingsolver writes beautifully and the imagery is intense as the story line carries you onwards.
Unfortunately the second half of the book fell flat for me: it became very “preachy” about the subject matter and seemed to offer nothing new to me about the subject of the McCarthy trials.
The ending was a surprise but one that fits the overall themes of the book (a man caught between two countries, two identities, reaching across a “lacuna”.
This novel is only my second novel by Kingsolver and it had huge boots to fill as I adored The Poisonwood Bible.
This is a novel from which I learnt a lot but I can’t say I loved
This is a long and interesting book filled with real life historical characters intertwined with the life story of the protagonist told via diary entries, journals, news clippings etc.
I really enjoyed the first half, set in Mexico. Kingsolver writes beautifully and the imagery is intense as the story line carries you onwards.
Unfortunately the second half of the book fell flat for me: it became very “preachy” about the subject matter and seemed to offer nothing new to me about the subject of the McCarthy trials.
The ending was a surprise but one that fits the overall themes of the book (a man caught between two countries, two identities, reaching across a “lacuna”.
This novel is only my second novel by Kingsolver and it had huge boots to fill as I adored The Poisonwood Bible.
This is a novel from which I learnt a lot but I can’t say I loved
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The beginning and the ending was really good. The initial Lev Trotsky part got a bit too passive from HS's perspective, which I didn't like. Barbara Kingsolver knows how to write funny and intense stuff.
I thought this was a beautiful book. I always enjoy Barbara Kingsolver, and her newest novel was no exception.
Mexico in the 1920's and 30's was awash with revolution, both politically and artistically. In the same household as Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera comes a story of another man's journey that is just as artistic.
Though Harrison William Shepherd is born in the United States, his Mexican mother takes him back to her homeland when he is a child. As she skips around to different lovers, Shepherd attempts to make his own way about being a child split between two worlds. Feeling an artistic draw, he becomes a plaster boy for the famous artist, Diego Rivera. After a stint back in the United States for schooling, Shepherd returns to Mexico and finds a job as a cook in the home of Diego Rivera and his wife, Frida Kahlo. Surrounding himself with these two famous artists, Shepherd details his experiences in his journals. Amidst the revolution in Mexico and harboring a revolutionary from Russia, Shepherd is literally plastered in the moment of upheaval in the early 20th century. Though he moves on and returns to the United States, settling down to become a writer, the experiences Shepherd had in the Kahlo and Rivera household remains with him throughout the expanse of his life. The narration, through journal entries, provided a deep and personal view into Shepherd's life and hinted at even that which he wanted to leave covered up. I adored the relationship between Shepherd and Frida, their plucky nature and their shared artistic souls. While I found it slightly disappointing that Shepherd returned to the United States and the moments with Frida diminished, I still found the whole of his story engaging.
Not only was this story one that showed the personal life of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, it also provided a look into the life of a regular man standing beside such greatness with a shrug on his shoulders. It humbled history and it made it realistic in the way only someone who is living history can portray it.
Though Harrison William Shepherd is born in the United States, his Mexican mother takes him back to her homeland when he is a child. As she skips around to different lovers, Shepherd attempts to make his own way about being a child split between two worlds. Feeling an artistic draw, he becomes a plaster boy for the famous artist, Diego Rivera. After a stint back in the United States for schooling, Shepherd returns to Mexico and finds a job as a cook in the home of Diego Rivera and his wife, Frida Kahlo. Surrounding himself with these two famous artists, Shepherd details his experiences in his journals. Amidst the revolution in Mexico and harboring a revolutionary from Russia, Shepherd is literally plastered in the moment of upheaval in the early 20th century. Though he moves on and returns to the United States, settling down to become a writer, the experiences Shepherd had in the Kahlo and Rivera household remains with him throughout the expanse of his life. The narration, through journal entries, provided a deep and personal view into Shepherd's life and hinted at even that which he wanted to leave covered up. I adored the relationship between Shepherd and Frida, their plucky nature and their shared artistic souls. While I found it slightly disappointing that Shepherd returned to the United States and the moments with Frida diminished, I still found the whole of his story engaging.
Not only was this story one that showed the personal life of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, it also provided a look into the life of a regular man standing beside such greatness with a shrug on his shoulders. It humbled history and it made it realistic in the way only someone who is living history can portray it.
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
A book of two halves, the first, in Mexico, full of colour, noise, light and famous people. The second is much more muted, with the protagonist becoming a victim of his earlier circumstances. Both halves were enjoyable in their own ways, and it was a novel that kept me reading right to the end.
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Read this immediately after Demon Copperhead, so it was definitely a pretty major tonal shift. I didn't find the writing/narrator to be as compelling as DC, but it was still a pretty good book.
The most striking thing about this book was when it got into the Red Scare part and you realize that all the stupid shit currently happening in America is the same stupid shit conservatives have always pulled. Finding people to blame and call un-American. I guess we should call this period the Brown Scare because this time it's immigrants instead of communists and also because I'm sure Traitor Don has Brown Scares daily in his Depends.
How many times are we as a country going to fall for this same stupid,fear mongering script? It was bullshit then, it's bullshit now.
The most striking thing about this book was when it got into the Red Scare part and you realize that all the stupid shit currently happening in America is the same stupid shit conservatives have always pulled. Finding people to blame and call un-American. I guess we should call this period the Brown Scare because this time it's immigrants instead of communists and also because I'm sure Traitor Don has Brown Scares daily in his Depends.
How many times are we as a country going to fall for this same stupid,fear mongering script? It was bullshit then, it's bullshit now.
Kingsolver's return to the epic historical novel is just as good as her Poisonwood Bible.