The Lacuna – Barbara Kingsolver

The first half of the novel deals with a young man growing up in Mexico in the 1930s in the household of Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo and Trotsky. You can probably guess how that pans out.

The second half of the novel deals with the USA in the 1950s and the oppressive hypocrisy of McCarthyism. You can probably guess the links here, and the implicit connection with the religious right of today.

Kingsolver’s storytelling skill means that, despite such predictability, the reader is gripped throughout thanks to fine writing, a well-constructed plot and vivid characters. I was particularly taken with Violet Brown, our hero’s redoubtable stenographer who begins very much in the background but becomes more prominent as the tale develops.