| The Lacuna | |
|---|---|
1st edition |
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| Author(s) | Barbara Kingsolver |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
| Publication date | 2009 |
| ISBN | 978-0060852580 |
| OCLC Number | 313656952 |
The Lacuna is a 2009 novel by Barbara Kingsolver. It is Kingsolver's sixth novel, and won the 2010 Orange Prize for Fiction[1] and the Library of Virginia Literary Award.[2][3] It was shortlisted for the 2011 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.[4]
The novel tells the story of Harrison Shepherd. His parents are separated, and he grows up in the 1930s, living variously with his American father and Mexican mother. During his time in Mexico he works as a cook for the artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, then as a secretary for Leon Trotsky during Trotsky's exile to Mexico.
Later in life, living in Asheville, he becomes a novelist and is subsequently investigated by the House Un-American Activities Committee. He instructs his secretary, Violet Brown, to burn his diaries and letters. She saves them instead, and it is these papers that form the bulk of the novel. There are gaps, or lacunae, in the story, hence the title.[5]
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