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Content snapshot
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Violence
Some
Historical violence including the Mexican Revolution and Trotsky's assassination
Language
Barely any
Mild language; Kingsolver's literary style
Sexual Content
Barely any
Minimal sexual content
Substance Use
None
No substance use
Emotional Intensity
A lot
The psychological cost of being destroyed by political hysteria — having your life dismantled by a country you loved — is the novel's central tragedy
What this book is about
Barbara Kingsolver's novel follows Harrison Shepherd, born to a Mexican father and American mother, who as a young man works in the household of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo and later becomes Leon Trotsky's cook. Returning to America, he becomes a successful novelist — until the McCarthy era turns against him. The novel weaves the Mexican Revolution and American anti-Communist hysteria through an intimate personal story. Dense with historical detail and genuinely affecting.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
McCarthyism and political persecution
Trotsky's assassination depicted
Reader Verification
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