Title: The Book of Lost Friends
Author: Lisa Wingate
Major Themes: Reconstruction, Family
Synopsis: Based on real advertisements in the “Lost Friends” column, this is a memorable story of a young woman in post-Civil War Louisiana searching for her long-lost family.
Last year, I had the privilege of reading Before We Were Yours, a book that instantly became one of my top favorites of the year. When I saw The Book of Lost Friends coming up, I knew I wanted to read that, too. Lisa Wingate has a way of weaving history and story together in an unforgettable manner, and I knew this book would likely be a treat, too. I wasn’t wrong!
Publisher’s description:
From the bestselling author of Before We Were Yours comes a dramatic historical novel of three young women searching for family amid the destruction of the post–Civil War South, and of a modern-day teacher who learns of their story and its vital connection to her students’ lives.
Bestselling author Lisa Wingate brings to life startling stories from actual “Lost Friends” advertisements that appeared in Southern newspapers after the Civil War, as newly freed slaves desperately searched for loved ones who had been sold away.
Louisiana, 1875: In the tumultuous era of Reconstruction, three young women set off as unwilling companions on a perilous quest: Hannie, a freed slave; Lavinia, the pampered heir to a now destitute plantation; and Juneau Jane, Lavinia’s Creole half sister. Each carries private wounds and powerful secrets as they head for Texas, following roads rife with vigilantes and soldiers still fighting a war lost a decade before. For Lavinia and Juneau Jane, the journey is one of stolen inheritance and financial desperation, but for Hannie, torn from her mother and siblings before slavery’s end, the pilgrimage west reignites an agonizing question: Could her long-lost family still be out there? Beyond the swamps lie the limitless frontiers of Texas and, improbably, hope.
Louisiana, 1987: For first-year teacher Benedetta Silva, a subsidized job at a poor rural school seems like the ticket to canceling her hefty student debt—until she lands in a tiny, out-of-step Mississippi River town. Augustine, Louisiana, is suspicious of new ideas and new people, and Benny can scarcely comprehend the lives of her poverty-stricken students. But amid the gnarled live oaks and run-down plantation homes lie the century-old history of three young women, a long-ago journey, and a hidden book that could change everything.
My thoughts:
There is so much going on in this story. The most fascinating part for me was the part of the story around Hannie and her journey as she searched for her family. I also appreciated the part of the story set in the 1980s in Louisiana, getting a peek into a time in American history I know very little about.
This book deals with racism, but so much more than that, too. In some ways, it’s a family saga—the story of a family torn apart by circumstances and greed, the story of the love that compels us to fight for what we’ve lost, even when it seems impossible, the story of humanity’s cruelty and the tenacity of hope. It’s also a story of discovery, as Benny learns history she is ignorant of, and uses that to help her students in their struggles and uncertainties.
I did struggle with some parts of the book. The violence, while often off-page, wasn’t pleasant, and some very difficult, awful things happen throughout the story. I didn’t always agree with the characters in their choices to lie or try to fight back, even though I understood why they made the choices they did. This book is also feministic in some of its leanings; the main characters are both women and one of them, especially, considers herself just as good as a man.
The Book of Lost Friends is a striking memorial to the many slave families ripped apart before and during the Civil War, and the hope they clung to afterward as they tried to rebuild their lives. It’s also a portrait of how one or two people’s greed can destroy many other people. In many ways, it’s a realistic story, which doesn’t make it an easy read—but it is a good read. If you enjoy learning about parts of history you don’t normally read about, and don’t mind darker stories on occasion, this could be a good book for you. It’s hard-hitting, yes, but also hopeful; a testament to the tenacity of the human spirit and the way life can come out of ashes. I’m glad I read this book, even though I doubt I’ll ever read it again. It’s a good story.
WARNING: Chapter 1: “It’s at night that the bad things happen, to Mama and Aunt Jennie both”, lying, man steals slaves, “he’s the devil and she is too”, people steal some strings, slaves sold off, woman kicked and passes out, man kept an “other family that everybody knew about, but didn’t speak about”, “devil you ain’t.” Chapter 2: “I’d swear”, person in an accident. Chapter 3: Mention of a woman being a witch and being willing to poison people, some superstitious beliefs, stealing, lying, “what in saint’s name”, “what in the name of mercy”, Lord, “O Lord O Lord”. Chapter 4: “For heaven’s sake”, crap (twice). Chapter 5: Lying. Chapter 7: Stealing things, description of people being attacked by dogs after running away. Chapter 8: “Good gravy”, crappy. Chapter 9: Stealing. Chapter 11: Multiple mentions of fear of ghosts/haints and superstition, asking the saints to protect them. Chapter 14: “Oh Lord” (twice). Chapter 15: “My Lord” (twice). Chapter 17: Mention of someone stealing people, “thank heaven.” Chapter 18: Man spends a night at a woman’s house (nothing wrong happens). Chapter 19: “Lord knows”, a woman tells about being told to make another baby with a man she doesn’t love and then her children being sold off, someone calls a horse a broom-tailed dink. Chapter 20: “I’d swear.” Chapter 21: Lord, a boy tells of a man whose throat was cut and he was thrown into the river, lying. Chapter 22: Unmarried touching, unmarried kiss. Chapter 23: Mention of sex and teenage pregnancy, “good gracious.” Chapter 25: Mention of women’s monthly, unwed pregnancy. Chapter 26: Unmarried hug. Chapter 27: Mention of seeing a saddle with blood on it, knowing a man kicked someone and approving, a fight and men killed, infernal, woman remembers hearing her mother being raped, “God a damn it”, men and a woman shot and killed. Chapter 28: Unmarried touching. Epilogue: Mention of pregnancy out of wedlock.
Age levels:
Reading Independently—Adults
Links to buy this book:
Amazon: Paperback | Kindle | Hardcover | Audible Audiobook (unabridged) | Audio CD
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