Summary

The Lacuna tells the life story of fictional protagonist Harrison Shepherd, weaving his life into factual events in Mexico and the United States in the first half of the twentieth century alongside interactions with real historical figures such as Frida Kahlo and Leon Trotsky.

Part 1 covers the years 1929-1931 and takes place in Mexico. It begins with a section titled “Isla Pixol, Mexico, 1929,” which is written in the style of narrative fiction, unlike the diary entries that follow for much of the rest of the novel. During this opening section, the name of the narrator is not revealed.

On the island, the narrator and his mother were frightened by the noise made by monkeys in the nearby trees, who they referred to as “howlers” because of the awful shrieking noises they made, which were quickly picked up, imitated, and repeated by the other monkeys...