The Lacuna

This is the third Barbara Kingsolver book I have read. I didn't really like the last one that much (Prodigal Summer), but a friend recommended this one, and I gave it a shot. I was talking with some friends at lunch today about how to classify this book. We settled on "historical fiction." This is a fictional book in which a fictional character interacts with real people (e.g., Frieda Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Trotsky) and is shaped by real historical events, especially including the US War on Communism (McCarthyism). I had a hard time getting into the book at first because it is comprised of many different segments, including a polished chapter 1, fictional diary entries, fictional correspondence, actual New York Times articles, etc. Once I got used to the format, I really liked it. I don't know a lot about the historical events included in the book, and reading the book made me more interested in learning the truth. I just read a little bit about Trotsky, and it seems that much of the information in The Lacuna is legit. 

If you want to learn a little about Mexican/American/Russian history and read something quirky and different, you might want to give this a shot.