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agirlhasnoname25 's review for:
The Lacuna
by Barbara Kingsolver
VERY SLOW TO START... at least for me. Didn't grab my interest right away, but I kept going since this was a bookclub read. I enjoyed the main characters interaction with Rivera, Kahlo and Trotsky. Rivera and Kahlo were represented here very similarly to biographies I have previously read, though my knowledge of Trotsky was very limited prior to this novel. There were so many themes running throughout the book; the main character's homosexuality, which, while obvious, was explored in a very subtle way. Sort of what I imagine it would have been like to be gay during this time period in Mexico/US. The main character also suffers from what seems to be anxiety and agoraphobia, long before these were known conditions. I appreciated all of the descriptions of Mexico, it's cuisine and it's historical sites, though these things hold special value to me, having travelled here in the past. The relationship between Violet Brown and Shephard touched me most of all, which I found surprising because her monologue in the middle of the book annoyed the crap out of me! Without giving away any details, I found the ending poignant and yet uplifting. Shephard's viewpoint of Asheville, NC during the second World War was also a real pleaser for me. Kingsolver subtly and succinctly creates characters in a way that I appreciate.