The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

This book was shortlisted for the 2010 Orange Prize and I wanted to read it because I really enjoyed The Poisonwood Bible. The Lacuna is a similar style but not as good as The Poisonwood Bible, and it is hard to describe why.

The novel follows a half Mexican half American novelist whose early life is spent cooking for the famous Rivera painters and for communist revolutionaries, including Trotsky. The novelist then settles in small town American and begins to write novels about Mexican history. This is a very interesting book and the main character is very likeable, although he remains a bit distant. The last 100 pages of this book are excellent and very thought provoking, commenting on Western prejudices and stereotypes in a way which is not as obvious or superior as is sometimes the case in novels. I think what lets this book down is the 100 - 200 pages in the middle, which get a bit lost and slow down the pace of what is otherwise a very good book.