"Visiting Mexico is not all about beach resorts, as the discerning traveller will attest. If Mexico is on your wish list, and it certainly should be, be sure to include inland cities such as Puebla, Oaxaca and Mexico City for a big dose of Mexican history and culture. A visit to Mexico City will surely expose you to the art of Diego Rivera and his indomitable wife Frida Kahlo. That’s where Barbara Kingsolver’s magnificent book, The Lacuna, is set, with its fictional protagonist Harrison Shepherd as a young mixer of pigments and paint for the rising star of mural art Diego Rivera. Visit city hall on the Zocalo, or main square, of the nation’s capital for an expansive eyeful of Rivera on the walls surrounding the main staircase. In the suburb of Coyoacan you can join throngs of adoring Mexicans touring Frida’s Blue House, where she indulged in the painting of her many self portraits and other colourful works of art. Our young protagonist finds himself a part of the household with the often warring couple. When they shelter Trotsky, in exile from Russia, he listens in on conversations espousing communism and revolution. On his return to the US Harrison becomes an author and achieves fame - attracting scrutiny during the McCarthy era for his possible communist leanings. Kingsolver is a compelling storyteller and you can’t help being gripped by the plot as the lives of her subjects draw you into their circle. This book has the best ending of any novel I’ve read! I enjoyed The Lacuna when it was first published, and re-read it while planning my visit to Mexico City, where I booked a cycling tour of Coyoacan that included skip-the-queue entry tickets to the Blue House! I don’t often re-read books (so many books, so little time…) but had no hesitation with The Lacuna, and enjoyed it just as much - even knowing its gripping finale!"