The Lacuna
Audio only

The Lacuna

A NovelBy Barbara KingsolverNarrated by Barbara Kingsolver
Length19h 15m

About this audiobook

New York Times Bestseller • A Best Book of the Year: New York Times, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, Seattle Times, and Kansas City Star • Winner of the Orange Prize “Breathtaking. . . dazzling.”  — New York Times Book Review “Epic and deeply personal. . . . This is thought-provoking, and potentially thought-changing, historical fiction at its best.” — Dallas Morning News In this powerfully imagined, provocative novel, Barbara Kingsolver, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and recipient of the National Book Foundation's Medal for Distinguish Contribution to American Letters, takes us on an epic journey from the Mexico of artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo to the America of Pearl Harbor, FDR, and J. Edgar Hoover. The Lacuna is the poignant story of a man pulled between two nations as well as an unforgettable portrait of the artist—and of art itself. Born in the United States, raised in Mexico, Harrison Shepherd lacks a sense of home in either. Life is whatever he learns from housekeepers who put him to work in the kitchen; from errands he runs in the streets; and, one fateful day, by mixing plaster for famed Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. He discovers a passion for Aztec history and the exotic, imperious artist Frida Kahlo, who will become his lifelong friend. When he goes to work for Lev Trotsky, an exiled political leader fighting for his life, Shepherd inadvertently casts his lot with art and revolution, newspaper headlines and howling gossip, and a risk of terrible violence. Meanwhile, to the north, the United States will soon be caught up in the internationalist goodwill of World War II. There, in the land of his birth, Shepherd believes he might remake himself in America’s hopeful image and claim a voice of his own. Through darkening years, political winds continue to toss him between north and south in a plot that turns many times on the unspeakable breach—the lacuna—between truth and public presumption. With deeply compelling characters, a vivid sense of place, and a clear grasp of how history and public opinion can shape a life, Kingsolver has created a rich and daring work of literature, establishing its author as one of the most provocative and important of her time.

Audiobook details

GenreGeneral Fiction, Literary Classics
Length19 hrs 15 mins
Narrated byBarbara Kingsolver
FormatAudiobook
Publish dateNov 3, 2009
LanguageEnglish

More from Barbara Kingsolver

Sherlock Holmes: The Ultimate Collection
Sherlock Holmes: The Ultimate CollectionArthur Conan Doyle59h 49m$5 · $0.00
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare: All 214 Plays, Sonnets, Poems & Apocryphal Plays (Including the Biography of the Author) (Annotated)
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare: All 214 Plays, Sonnets, Poems & Apocryphal Plays (Including the Biography of the Author) (Annotated)William Shakespeare156h 38m$2 · $0.00
The Complete Works of Fyodor Dostoyevsky: Novels, Short Stories and Autobiographical Writings
The Complete Works of Fyodor Dostoyevsky: Novels, Short Stories and Autobiographical WritingsFyodor Dostoyevsky270h 59m$2 · $0.00
The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America (Annotated)
The Bark Canoes and Skin Boats of North America (Annotated)Howard Irving Chapelle, Tappan Adney13h 10m$2 · $0.00
Charles Dickens: Complete Works (Annotated)
Charles Dickens: Complete Works (Annotated)Charles Dickens819h 4m$2 · $0.00
The Complete Novels of Jane Austen & Brontë Sisters (Annotated)
The Complete Novels of Jane Austen & Brontë Sisters (Annotated)Jane Austen, Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, Anne Brontë203h 52m$2 · $0.00
The Complete Works: Charlotte, Emily, Anne, Patrick & Branwell Brontë
The Complete Works: Charlotte, Emily, Anne, Patrick & Branwell BrontëCharlotte Brontë, Anne Brontë, Emily Brontë138h 12m$1 · $0.00
The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde (Annotated)
The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde (Annotated)Oscar Wilde126h 19m$2 · $0.00
L. M. Montgomery – Premium Collection: Novels, Short Stories, Poetry & Memoirs
L. M. Montgomery – Premium Collection: Novels, Short Stories, Poetry & MemoirsLucy Maud Montgomery155h 1m$2 · $0.00
The Complete Works of the Brontë Family
The Complete Works of the Brontë Family Charlotte Brontë, Emily Brontë, Anne Brontë140h 13m$2 · $0.00
MARK TWAIN: 12 Novels, 195 Short Stories, Autobiography, 10 Travel Books, 160+ Essays & Speeches (Illustrated)
MARK TWAIN: 12 Novels, 195 Short Stories, Autobiography, 10 Travel Books, 160+ Essays & Speeches (Illustrated)Mark Twain415h 9m5.0 (2)$2 · $0.00
This Side of Paradise - The Original 1920 Edition (Annotated)
This Side of Paradise - The Original 1920 Edition (Annotated)F. Scott Fitzgerald11h 30m$2 · $0.00
The Great Gatsby: Original 1925 Edition (An F. Scott Fitzgerald Classic Novel
The Great Gatsby: Original 1925 Edition (An F. Scott Fitzgerald Classic NovelFrancis Scott Fitzgerald4h 45m$18 · $0.00
All Novels
All NovelsGeorge Orwell53h 48m$10 · $0.00
The Complete Works of Tolstoy
The Complete Works of TolstoyLeo Tolstoy412h 44m$1 · $0.00
The Complete Works of Louisa May Alcott (Annotated)
The Complete Works of Louisa May Alcott (Annotated)Louisa May Alcott226h 24m$2 · $0.00
Sherlock Holmes series - complete
Sherlock Holmes series - completeArthur Conan54h 8m$3.50 · $0.00
The Fire Next Time
The Fire Next TimeJames Baldwin2h 25m$15
The Count of Monte Cristo (With Original Illustrations)
The Count of Monte Cristo (With Original Illustrations)Alexandre Dumas54h$1 · $0.00
H. P. Lovecraft: The Complete Fiction (Annotated)
H. P. Lovecraft: The Complete Fiction (Annotated)H. P. Lovecraft50h 45m$2 · $0.00

You may also like

Welcome to Braggsville
Welcome to BraggsvilleT. Geronimo Johnson12h 13m$29 · $0.00
Doctor Copernicus
Doctor CopernicusJohn Banville10h 45m$29 · $0.00
The Emperor of Shoes
The Emperor of ShoesSpencer Wise10h 17m$29 · $0.00
The Growth of a Soul
The Growth of a SoulAugust Strindberg4h 52m$2 · $0.00
Reminiscences, 1819-1899
Reminiscences, 1819-1899Julia Ward Howe9h 31m$1 · $0.00
The Analects of Confuius
The Analects of ConfuiusConfucius3h 4m$2.30
Sandra Belloni (originally Emilia in England) — Complete
Sandra Belloni (originally Emilia in England) — CompleteGeorge Meredith19h 38m$2 · $0.00
The Education of Henry Adams (Annotated)
The Education of Henry Adams (Annotated)Henry Adams21h 22m$2 · $0.00
Piety & Power
Piety & PowerTom LoBianco11h 30m$29 · $0.00
The Life & Legacy of W.E. Gladstone
The Life & Legacy of W.E. GladstoneJohn Morley80h 27m$2 · $0.00
Gilbert Keith Chesterton
Gilbert Keith ChestertonMaisie Ward25h 46m$2.30
People in Glass Houses
People in Glass HousesTanya Levin10h 32m$20
All in the Day's Work: An Autobiography (Annotated)
All in the Day's Work: An Autobiography (Annotated)Ida M. Tarbell15h 43m$2 · $0.00
The Home and the World
The Home and the WorldRabindranath Tagore7h 19m$2.30
Loss and Gain (Annotated)
Loss and Gain (Annotated)John Henry Newman13h 29m$3 · $0.00
The Dwelling Place of Light — Complete
The Dwelling Place of Light — CompleteWinston Churchill13h 44m$2 · $0.00
The Real Romney
The Real RomneyMichael Kranish, Scott Helman12h 50m$33 · $0.00
Poverty and the Iron Heel - 4 Classic Literary Realism Novels
Poverty and the Iron Heel - 4 Classic Literary Realism NovelsCharles Dickens, Charles Kingsley, Elizabeth Gaskell, George Gissing140h 30m$2
Unassimilable
UnassimilableBianca Mabute-Louie6h 33m$24 · $0.00
How to Succeed in Hollywood without Really Trying
How to Succeed in Hollywood without Really TryingMelville Shavelson7h$17