Almost every book club on the Island has probably read at least one work by Barbara Kingsolver. She has been enriching American literature since “The Bean Trees” was published in 1988. Kingsolver is a national treasure, authoring short stories, fiction, poetry, essays and history. She has won several literary prizes, including the 2010 Orange Award for Fiction for her
sixth novel, “The Lacuna.” No surprise, then,
that Vashon College chose “The Lacuna” as its “Vashon Reads” summer book.
Will you like this book? Hard to say. Is it
suitable as a “common book” appropriate for community discussion? Yes, but reviewers have been split on their reactions.
Nor is “The Lacuna” your typical fun summer book; it is complex in narrative form and message. But it is also an elegant work of fiction constructed out of the many realities of mid-century American political history. Complicated motives and outcomes, just as we experience in real life, complete this mystifying novel. And by no means is everything explained: We all have lacunas, those holes and gaps in our private and public lives which require patient attention — and sometimes community discussion — if we are to finally come to terms with our own realities.
Kingsolver wrote “The Lacuna” during the George W. Bush presidency, and, although the story itself takes place during the 1930s to 1950s, it provides a nuanced reflection of the first disturbing decade of our 21st century. Protagonist Harrison Shepherd is a young man with a knack for being in fascinating places at what turn out to be wrong times for him. He spends his early years in Mexico, knocking around with his mother, but manages to get hired (twice) by Diego Rivera and befriended by Frieda Kahlo and Leon Trotsky. He travels to the United States and is an innocent witness to several iconic moments as America struggles through the Great Depression and leaps into World War II.
Shepherd settles in Asheville, N.C., and becomes an acclaimed writer of historical fiction, but one who is squeamish about his own fame. As the distressing conclusion moves to its end, and his past experiences are twisted to serve another purpose, Shepherd is sucked into the distorted world of the Cold War, the FBI and the House Un-American Activities Committee.
So no, “The Lacuna” is not a light summer read, but it is beautifully thoughtful, astonishing in its perspective. Resting on a prodigious amount of research, this book is above all a powerful piece of political art which should make all of us pay closer attention to the forces shaping our own political landscape. The book is available at Books by the Way, Vashon Bookshop or the Vashon Library. Watch for coming “Vashon Reads” events over the summer.
— Glenda Pearson is on the curriculum committee of Vashon College and works at the University of Washington Libraries.
