The Lacuna in Around the World

Nov 07, 2011 Beth rated it really liked it

Rating: 3 1/2 stars

I love Barbara Kingsolver. She is one of my favorite contemporary writers. Therefore, it pains me to say that this novel, out of all the work I have read of hers, engaged me the least. Because she is a wonderful writer I know I expect a lot from her. In this novel, as all others, she proves her ability to write creatively, eloquently, and with her own personal style. However, I felt as if I was being preached to, especially in the later part of the story. So much so, that I wa Rating: 3 1/2 stars

I love Barbara Kingsolver. She is one of my favorite contemporary writers. Therefore, it pains me to say that this novel, out of all the work I have read of hers, engaged me the least. Because she is a wonderful writer I know I expect a lot from her. In this novel, as all others, she proves her ability to write creatively, eloquently, and with her own personal style. However, I felt as if I was being preached to, especially in the later part of the story. So much so, that I was not disappointed when the book ended. I was relieved.

I enjoy history. I love literature. So, the two together are a wonderful blend. Kingsolver did her homework, covering this period thoroughly as it related to the needs of her story. However, every time I picked up the book I felt as if she were repeatedly shouting her point at me. In effect, lecturing her audience. I found myself wanting her to develop the story more intricately, especially in the second half of the book. Allowing more thoughts from the protagonist (H. Shepherd), would not necessitate a compromised second voice characterization of him.

Kingsolver clearly wanted to keep H. Shepherd distanced from her reader, despite the fact his information came, for the most part, directly from his journals. We were supposed to see his life from V. Brown's point-of-view as if we, too, had just found and read his missing journal for the first time. He was a man that did not give himself away to anyone, ever. I got that. The problem was, maintaining a balance between a removed character and developing a character and story with substance. This is where the book fell apart. Instead of feeling moved, captivated, and inspired by this great writer's work, I felt enough already, stop lecturing and get on with the story. In reading other LT reviews I found this, too, was where other readers experienced a disconnect.

I gave this book 3 1/2 stars, and felt it could be 4. Despite all my complaining about the book, Kingsolver still proves herself to be among one of the great writers of our time. If expectations by her readers were less (it is my hope), she would be disappointed. This is not a bad book by any means. It is simply not the best this author can do. ...more

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Jan 24, 2012 Rusalka rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: migrants-diaspora-other, presents-to-me, central-america, own, states, around-the-world, original-52-books-around-the-world, prize-formerly-known-as-orange, doorstops

Straight up. I will make no apologies but I was brought up on musicals. 1950s musicals to be exact. According to my wonderful father, Frank Sinatra is the best singer, Fred Astaire is the best dancer, but Gene Kelly is just the best. This has nothing to do with this book, besides the fact that my mind thinks in musicals and finds links to any song possible. Which is helpful as a singer. However reading a book (as demonstrated in the last post) can be very annoying.

So, this book had Living Lacuna Straight up. I will make no apologies but I was brought up on musicals. 1950s musicals to be exact. According to my wonderful father, Frank Sinatra is the best singer, Fred Astaire is the best dancer, but Gene Kelly is just the best. This has nothing to do with this book, besides the fact that my mind thinks in musicals and finds links to any song possible. Which is helpful as a singer. However reading a book (as demonstrated in the last post) can be very annoying.

So, this book had Living Lacuna Loca in my head the entire time. While not Ricky Martin's fault, as it is not the actual title of the song, I am still annoyed.

That being said. That is where my usual "annoyance" ends.

This is a brilliant book. Not perfect but pretty damn close. I loved The Poisonwood Bible, and this is comparable. Harrison's childhood and then young adulthood in Mexico was tangible. Parts of it made it feel like I could reach out and touch things. You respect Harrison and wish, no LONG, things to work out better for him.

You love Trotsky and Kahlo as secondary characters. Frida Kahlo was a big thing here in Canberra while I was in College (Yrs 11-12 for non-Canberrans). She had a exhibition here then, yes 50 years after her death, and made a stir. One of my favourite Aussie bands, The Whitlams, mentions her in one of their songs of that time (also in my head the entire time).

Besides the brilliant first half of the book in Mexico, the rest of the book leaves me terrified in America. I'm not going go in to an anti-American diatribe. But the the last half of the book, with it's anti-Communist-for-the-sake-of-it focus is heart breaking. Not the author's point of view but the society's.

I have never ever though about post war America. My father mentioned above was a kid when the war hit. He lived in England, in the North, and he met so men who trained up North and were fed at his Grandmother's house and went to war. He was a sailor in Korea and Vietnam and trained in the States, but you could not get him to say a nice thing about the States in WWII. To them and him, America only came in when they themselves were threatened.

I am not going to argue with anyone here. My father is gone so I can't convince him otherwise. My point is as an Australian with a Yorkshireman as a father who lived through the war, I never thought about America post war. It just happened, and then there was Mad Men. But this book explained, if it was close to what happened, the American psyche. It explained to me the terror, the void of identity, that needed to be plugged. It if nothing else explained to me the blatant fear of socialism and communism that exists in the country today.

I don't need a political debate and that is not what I am after. However, when a President for example looks at introducing something the rest of the Western world has and is labelled a Communist or/and a Socialist, the end of this book explains why that is so for the rest of us who cannot fathom it. Too us it is madness, this book explains where madness comes from.

It was amazing, liberating, for a borderline socialist, invigorating, historically balanced, and just bloody well written. I may have a girl crush. I also crave enchiladas. So 4.5 controversial stars from me.

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