The Book of Lost Friends

by Lisa Wingate

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

'A tale of enduring power' Paula McLain

From the author of the No.1, two million-copy bestseller Before We Were Yours comes a dramatic story of a family separated, their search for answers, and an epic journey to reunite the missing . . .

Louisiana, 1875: In the tumultuous aftermath of Reconstruction, three young women set off as unwilling companions on a perilous quest. For heiresses Lavinia and Juneau Jane, the journey is one of inheritance and financial desperation, but for Hannie, torn from her mother and siblings before slavery's end, the pilgrimage westward reignites an agonizing question. Could her long-lost family still be out there?

Louisiana, 1987: Arriving in Augustine, Louisiana, first-year teacher Benedetta Silva finds herself teaching students whose poverty-stricken lives she can scarcely comprehend. The town is impossibly set in its ways, suspicious of new ideas and new people. But amid the gnarled live oaks and ancient plantation homes lies the century-old history of three young women, a long-ago journey, and a hidden book that could change everything.

A heart-wrenching novel inspired by little-known historical events, based on actual "Lost Friends" advertisements that appeared in Southern newspapers after the Civil War, as freed slaves desperately searched for loved ones, lost to them when their families were sold off.

'Tragic, thought-provoking but ultimately uplifting . . . an enthralling adventure' Lancashire Evening Post

• ISBN10: 152940892X
• ISBN13: 9781529408928
• Publish Date: 7 April 2020
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 20 August 2024
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Quercus Publishing
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 464
• Language: English

Reviews

[kimbacaffeinate]

Wingate transported me, and I quickly became caught up in both timelines.

Louisiana 1875– Freed slaves search for families in newspaper ads read from the pulpit of community churches. We follow Hannie, a freed slave who longs for her family as she gets caught up in the troubles of Lavinia, the pampered heir to a now-destitute plantation and Juneau Jane, her illegitimate free-born Creole half-sister. Unthinkable danger awaits as the sisters search for their father. Wingate paints the times, as she shares the truths and harsh realities of this turbulent time.

Louisiana 1987- A depressed town stuck in the past is where Benedetta Silva agrees to teach in order to pay off her student loan debt. She soon finds herself caught up in the students and the towns past. But in Augustine, Louisiana, not everyone wants the past revealed.

This story unfolded slowly as we got to know the characters and their circumstance. The stories surrounding Hannie were more action-packed and often dark, but Wingate quickly had me rooting for Benedetta and her students. I loved how she pulled them in and was aided by townfolk.

The past and present eventually wove together, and I appreciated how the author did this. I found the newspaper ads heartbreaking and a reminder of our dark past. This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer