Barbara Kingsolver's masterpiece, The Poisonwood Bible, is a novel so loved by so many (it is said to be the most popular novel ever amongst reading groups) that it was clearly a very tall order to follow. Nevertheless, Kingsolver's new novel The Lacuna deserves to be ranked with her earlier classic. The structure of the book follows the story of Harrison Shepherd through the diaries recounting his experiences from Mexico to North America from the 1930s through to the 1950s. Aiming to blend into the background of life, he works as cook and runs errands for the artist and revolutionary Diego Rivera in the household he shared with Frida Kahlo.

Kahlo it is who encourages Shepherd to become a writer. After being inadvertently caught up in the death of Trotsky, Shepherd flees to America and uses his talent for observation in a new direction. Previous involvements with communism lead to persecution in America. A gripping novel of revolutionary fervour that criss crosses between Mexico and America. Full of interesting and vivid characterisations, this is undoubtedly one of the most important American novels of recent years.