Historical Fiction · ThoughtfulHarrison Shepherd grows up between Mexico and the U.S. and ends up cooking for Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo
The Lacuna
A boy shuttles between two countries and becomes a cook in Diego Rivera's and Frida Kahlo's household
Harrison William Shepherd's parents are separated, so he moves between his father in the United States and his mother in Mexico. In Mexico in the 1930s he works for the muralist Diego Rivera and then as a cook for Rivera and Frida Kahlo, and forms a lifelong friendship with Kahlo. Later scenes are set in Washington, D.C., and Asheville, North Carolina. Most of the book consists of Shepherd's diaries and letters, saved by his secretary Violet Brown against his instructions, and the gaps in them give the book its title.
More about this book
Who
Harrison William Shepherd, Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo and Shepherd's secretary Violet Brown.
World
Mexico in the 1930s, then Washington, D.C., and Asheville, North Carolina.
What makes it different
Most of it is made of diaries and letters, and its gaps, the lacunae, give it its title.
Feel
Reflective and rich in period.
Page count and cover shown for: Selected edition
Further reading
- The LacunaWikipedia