It's Not You, It's Me

The Lacuna, Barbara Kingsolver
Told through diary entries and letters, this historical novel follows the life of Harrison William Shepherd as a teenager, in 1929, through 1951.  In between he hangs out with Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo and Leon Trotsky in Mexico, and then heads to the U.S. where he’s eventually hauled before the House Un-American Activities Committee.

I found it really hard to get into this book - it took me about 50 pages before I wanted to keep reading it and I only stuck with it because it’s my book club’s pick for October.  It gets better, though - now I am 150 pages into it and am enjoying it a lot more.  I like the main character’s wry voice and the colorful historical details.  The writing style is much different from Animal Dreams, another book by Kingsolver that I re-read this summer - it’s much funnier, for one, and it appears to be well researched.  Sometimes I can’t believe it’s the same author.  However, it’s not exactly plot-driven, and maybe for that reason it’s taking me a lot longer to complete it than I’d planned.

Once upon a time, I had a boyfriend like this.  On paper, he was perfect for me, and when I was spending time with him, I enjoyed his company.  But when he wasn’t around I didn’t miss him, and if I thought about him at all, it was with mild irritation.  Needless to say, the romance didn’t last.  That's how it is with this book - while I’m reading it, I’m engrossed, but when I put it down it can be days before I pick it up again.  There’s very little actual plot moving the story along, and if you know anything at all about 20th century history, you sort of know what is going to happen.  That said, it is really well written, and I *do* like it.  I just find my mind wandering toward more exciting books, and I just want to be done with it.  That probably says more about my fickle nature than about the merits of this book.