The Lacuna, written by Barbara Kingsolver in 2009, is an interesting bio piece about a fictional Mexican-American writer named Harrison Shepherd, who moves back and forth between Mexico and America during different phases of his life. His American "flapper" mother is a kind of flighty gold-digger who drags the young Harrison with her to Mexico at age 10. He comes of age in the household of the great Mexican muralist painter Diego Garcia. Lev Trotsky comes to hide out from Stalin in his friend Diego's home, and ends up getting assassinated. The communist connection comes to haunt Harrison years later, after he returns to the US and becomes a best-selling author of historcal fiction set in Mexico. The country becomes crazed by the "red scare" and McCarthyism, with dire consequences. Things deteriorate from there and the story takes an unexpected turn. The story is narrated by Shepherd's secretary, pieced together from his diaries. It's a vivid story with some lovely writing, particularly in the Mexican parts.
For a review of the book from the NY Times, click here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/books/review/Schillinger-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
For a review of the book from the NY Times, click here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/books/review/Schillinger-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
