The Lacuna
by Barbara Kingsolver

Summary

Balancing a strong sense of social justice with a warm narrative voice, The Lacuna is a poignant story of a man pulled between two nations. It takes us on an epic journey from the Mexico City of artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo to the America of Pearl Harbor, FDR, and J. Edgar Hoover.

Born in the United States, and reared in Mexico, Harrison finds precarious shelter but no sense of home on his thrilling odyssey. He mixes plaster for famed Mexican muralist Diego Rivera and meets exotic, imperious artist Frida Kahlo. But when he goes to work for exiled political leader Lev Trotsky, Harrison inadvertently casts his lot with art and revolution, risking terrible violence. When Harrison returns to the United States, hoping to remake himself and claim a voice of his own, political winds continue to toss him between north and south in a plot that turns many times on the unspeakable breach—the lacuna—between truth and public presumption.

With deeply compelling characters, a vivid sense of place, and a clear grasp of how history and public opinion can shape a life, Barbara Kingsolver has created an unforgettable portrait of the artist—and of art itself. The Lacuna is a rich and daring work of literature, establishing its author as one of the most provocative and important of her time.

Praise

The novel achieves a rare dramatic power ... Kingsolver masterfully resurrects a dark period in American history with the assured hand of a true literary artist." — Publishers Weekly (Starred Review).

About the Author

Barbara Kingsolver's bestselling books of fiction, poetry, and creative nonfiction include her best-selling Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, and the novels The Bean Trees and The Poisonwood Bible. Translated into nineteen languages, her work has won a devoted worldwide readership and many awards, including the National Humanities Medal, our country's highest honor for service through the arts. Kingsolver lives with her family on a farm in southwestern Virginia.

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