Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
The most impressive work of fiction I’ve read as far as the ambition of the research and parallels needed to be constructed to make it up. I feel smarter for having read it, and I want to read everything Kingsolver has ever written now. Only reason it is not 5 stars for me is that I love historical fiction, and it took a while for me to get hooked. That is a natural hazard though when writing a novel mostly from the perspective of journal entries I’ve the span of decades and with a huge historical backdrop between TWO countries. Just gobsmacked and grateful this author exists
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
This was a great story- its a fictional tale about Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivieria and the crazy affect communism had on this country.
An amazing book, with a great title. Harrison Shepard, as well as the other characters, is drawn amazingly. The story really comes to life in your hands. The format is creative, and like Kingsolver's other books the symbolism is a treat to unravel.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
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:
Complicated
I got 60 pages into this back in 2015, but it never hooked me, and I moved onto other things. I liked it a lot better second time around, although it requires some patience and persistence early on.
The protagonist, Harrison Shepherd, deliberately obscures his own personality and rarely betrays any strong emotions or compelling opinions in his diary, excerpts from which make up most the novel. So, on the one hand, you have a notably dull-seeming central character and are given little incentive to care about his wellbeing as he stumbles through a series of significant historical moments, meeting Trotsky, Kahlo and Nixon along the way. On the other hand, this dullness is a deliberate ploy by the author, which is interesting. The chief reason for her decision, I would say, lies in the final 200 pages of the book, when Shepherd finds himself under investigation as part of Joseph McCarthy's anti-Communist witchhunt. Kingsolver wants to show us how even someone who has spent their whole life striving not to commit to any particular political doctrine, someone who hopes to be unobtrusive and innocuous, could be found guilty by these ludicrous show-trials. She ties this into some broader ideas about the dangers of blind patriotism, and of ignoring history and context.
Once the McCarthy trials enter the picture, the book becomes much more compelling, because there's something at stake; a source of tension; Harrison is actually threatened. Until that point it's quite engaging, because you get some illuminating and colourful accounts of actual events and a sense of what it was like to live through those times (it's clearly a book which has been meticulously researched). But it feels, for the first 450 pages, somewhat directionless; you're left unsure what the shape of the story is, or why Kingsolver wants to tell this particular story.
So: I liked it, but understand why it has some 1-star reviews, and a lot of people will bounce off it hard. Not for everyone, but it's an unusual book with a lot of qualities.
The protagonist, Harrison Shepherd, deliberately obscures his own personality and rarely betrays any strong emotions or compelling opinions in his diary, excerpts from which make up most the novel. So, on the one hand, you have a notably dull-seeming central character and are given little incentive to care about his wellbeing as he stumbles through a series of significant historical moments, meeting Trotsky, Kahlo and Nixon along the way. On the other hand, this dullness is a deliberate ploy by the author, which is interesting. The chief reason for her decision, I would say, lies in the final 200 pages of the book, when Shepherd finds himself under investigation as part of Joseph McCarthy's anti-Communist witchhunt. Kingsolver wants to show us how even someone who has spent their whole life striving not to commit to any particular political doctrine, someone who hopes to be unobtrusive and innocuous, could be found guilty by these ludicrous show-trials. She ties this into some broader ideas about the dangers of blind patriotism, and of ignoring history and context.
Once the McCarthy trials enter the picture, the book becomes much more compelling, because there's something at stake; a source of tension; Harrison is actually threatened. Until that point it's quite engaging, because you get some illuminating and colourful accounts of actual events and a sense of what it was like to live through those times (it's clearly a book which has been meticulously researched). But it feels, for the first 450 pages, somewhat directionless; you're left unsure what the shape of the story is, or why Kingsolver wants to tell this particular story.
So: I liked it, but understand why it has some 1-star reviews, and a lot of people will bounce off it hard. Not for everyone, but it's an unusual book with a lot of qualities.
I love Barbara Kingsolver but this was not a fun book or an easy book to read. I'm glad I stuck with it long enough to get to know the characters. Harrison Shepherd and Violette Brown and the imagery of the lacuna itself will stay with me long after I've forgotten other lighter books.
Didn't actually finish it, but I enjoyed what I read about and learned about the famous muralist and his wife, and Trotsky!
A bit overlong and unnecessarily complex, but a good read. Postwar USA doesn't come out well with the ignorant scourge of McCarthyism etc. Interesting stuff about Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo and Trotsky in Mexico. But the central character of Harrison Shepherd (cook, servant and writer) was a bit weak.