| HOME | BESTSELLERS | NEW RELEASES | PRICE WATCH | FICTION | BIOGRAPHIES | E-BOOKS |
Barbara Kingsolver wins the Orange Prize with The Lacuna
09 June 2010
A delighted Barbara Kingsolver has won the 15th Orange Prize for fiction. The prize winning novel beat Hilary Mantels Booker prize winning Wolf Hall. Barbara Kingsolver, born in Kentucky USA has been shortlisted in 1999, when she penned the excellent Poisonwood Bible, a story about a family who are forced to live with the consequences of moving from 1950's thriving USA to allow their father to pursue his ambition to evangelise the Congo. It looked as though the prize may have remained elusive to her due to the popularity of Wolf Hall. However, Daisy Goodwin declared the reason for choosing 'The Lacuna' because 'it is a book of breathtaking scale and shattering moments of poignancy'.
Barbara Kingsolver is not afraid to court controversy and is perfectly comfortable with the criticism she has received for challenging US government policies. The Lacuna is typical of Kingsolver's attention to historical accuracy and relentlessly detailed research. The story is about Harrison Shepherd, who grows up with a gold digging and inattentive mother in 1950's Mexico, and journals his experiences and observations as a chef for the muralist Diego Rivera and his wife, the renown artist Frida Kahlo; Harrison is living with them when they provide safe haven for Trotsky, with whom Kahlo has an affair, whilst he was on the run from Stalin.
Barbara Kingsolver recognition is well deserved as her writing is simultaneously elegant, critical, challenging and empathetic. She has received her prize at a ceremony this evening at London's Royal Festival Hall. For those of you interested in her non-fiction, you may be surprised to learn that Barbara Kingsolver was a biologist before she turned to writing and she spent a year with her husband living on locally produced seasonal produce, and wrote and account of her experience, entitled Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: Our Year of Seasonal Eating.
To purchase your copy of The Lacuna and her other excellent literature, please ensure you check out the cheapest price using our price comparison service.
