THE LACUNA. Kingsolver, Barbara. 2009.

I read this, or tried to, this past winter, 2010.

I have loved Barbara Kingsolver's previous books. THE POSIONWOOD BIBLE is a contemporary masterpiece, and her other novels have been compelling and well written as well.

THE LACUNA - not so much. And I'm not sure why.

Once again, Kingsolver creates a character and sets him in the midst of history being made - in this case, in the household of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, Mexico City, early twentieth century. It is a politically and artistically radical household, contrasted with the mild-mannered-fade-into-the-background narrator and main character, one Harrison William Shepherd. Shepherd is an American citizen, son of a single mother that uses men for social climbing, being raised in the current turmoil of Mexico City and the rising specter of socialism. He becomes a household assistant and errand boy for Frida Kahlo and later, Leon Trotsky.
However, Kingsolver renders her main character too pale and passive amongst his brightly colored surroundings, I think. Shepherd spends his days recording and observing the ideas and actions of those he works for - the Riveras and Leon Trotsky - but does not reveal enough of himself amid this narrative. This, in my opinion, makes for a very boring story and a boring narrator. In the latter half of the novel, when Shepherd is living on his own, it seems he isn't fleshed out enough to really care about. I honestly couldn't finish the book, simply because I was so bored with it and didn't care what happened to Shepherd. We already know what happened to Trotsky, Kahlo and Rivera. In order for this novel to be successful, we have to also care about Shepherd too in his role as narrator. What does he learn, what does he become, what does he love? Kingsolver makes William so wishy-washy and passive, one really never discovers the answers to the above, as well as what he seeks in the first place. He's homosexual and hides it. So what? It doesn't define who he is, and niether, really, does the lives of his artist/revolutionary friends.

That's the best I can do to describe why the story fails to compel me to keep reading. I was disappointed as I bought the 1st ed. hardcover of this, certain that Kingsolver would be worth it. It wasn't.

Not recommended, even if you're really, really into B. Kingsolver. Definitely do not make this your first read by her. I'm hoping this is just an uncharacteristic snag for her and she will once again grace us with one of her compelling, insightful novels.

COLLAPSE. Diamond, Jared. 2005

I read this last winter, but forgot to post a review here.

The complete title reads Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed.

The book chronicles the rise and fall of the following civilizations: the Anasazi of the American Southwest, the Vikings of Greenland, Easter Island, and the Mayans.

I mainly read this book because I wanted to learn more about Easter Island and it's demise, and I did glean some pertinent, yet too brief, information from this book.

However, the book's premise is not really to be a detailed history of the above civilizations, yet to give an overview of their strengths and weaknesses, especially in terms of how they used their surrounding environment. In the above cases, the societies collapsed or, more accurately, dwindled away to nothing, because of their gradual, yet unrelenting depletion of natural resources.

One of the things that strikes me, personally, about Easter Island, is the question of when the inhabitants finally realized their days were literally numbered, and their resources would, indeed, disappear by the very next generation (if not sooner) - and they had to have undoubtedly realized it at some obvious point - why they didn't try and do something to turn the situation around. Why weren't some trees set aside to make rafts or boats to escape to another island? There is apparently no indication of it. All evidence suggests that the inhabitants simply bided their time while continuing to do the very same things that brought them to their demise - cut down trees, raise pigs and chickens and non-native crops in an environment that was not naturally set up for it, engage in petty tribal warfare and build huge, time and labor-consuming monuments that no one today really understands.
Sound familiar?

COLLAPSE apparently has offended quite a few folks, I'm not sure why. Doomsday predictions based on true events hurts?

Overall, a well-researched book, clearly and concisely written for the layman, with some hard lessons to swallow. I recommend it whether it depresses you or pisses you off.