"Well, my young friend. Do you remain uncurious?"

"Señor, I confess, I maintain that position with increasing difficulty."

Like the protagonist of Barbara Kingsolver's The Lacuna, I remained somewhat indifferent to seeking out this novel. But the other day, the bold yellow and blue of its dust jacket beckoned. I've been in Rivera's Mexico ever since. Told in diary entries, the story follows Harrison Shepherd from his childhood with his Mexican mother, a short stint at boarding school near his American father, and his young adulthood working for Rivera and Kahlo and subsequently their house guest - Lev Trotsky.

As for what happens next, I'll have to let you know since I'm only about halfway through.

But maybe not giving away the ending is a good thing. I've found Kingsolver's work is best when discovered by chance. More than a decade ago, I came across one of her earlier works in the English section of a Japanese bookstore. Starved for anything in English, I grabbed it mainly because of its thickness. My plan for stocking up on reading material backfired. Instead of savoring it slowly over the next few weeks, I greedily finished it in a few days.

Curious? I hope so.