TITLE: THE BOOK OF LOST FRIENDS
AUTHOR: LISA WINGATE
DATE OF PUBLICATION: 2021
PUBLISHER: Ballantine Books
ISBN: 9781984819901
ABOUT THE STORY
The Book of Lost Friends is historical fiction set after the Civil War in the rural South. And it is also set in the late 1980’s in Augustine, Louisiana. The story weaves between the distant past, where recently freed slaves faced the challenges of a changed society, and the lives of a teacher in Augustine, Louisiana in 1987, trying to better the fortunes of her poor students in a poverty-stricken district. In the past we see the needs and desires of freed slaves to re-establish their families and heal their splintered lives. In the present, we see a teacher with her own passion for learning and history trying to find solutions for lingering problems.
The power of Southern white land-owners pervades both the past and the present. Benedetta Silva, in 1987, encourages her students to take advantage of the library at Gossett Mansion. There they can learn about their ancestors. But they face the resistance and power of some of the townspeople and the older Gossett family members. A century earlier, Hannie Gossett, a former slave girl descended from her mulatto Gossett mother, makes her way through slave loyalties to the “old Mister” (whom she also calls “Marse”). She has a deep craving to find her mother and siblings whom she remembers from a time before they were sold off one by one by the reprehensible Gossett in-law Jep Loach.
As Hannie’s story develops, she collects tales from other freed slaves who are looking for their people. Her master’s quadroon New Orleans daughter, Juneau Jane, writes down the stories in The Book of Lost Friends. And a century later, Benedetta Silva’s class prepare scripts of the stories they uncover and rehearse to present them to the public in their small town. It takes courage to speak truth to power, to face the blemished past and claim it as one’s heritage.
The novel includes actual published notices from those still looking in the 1880’s for their family and friends after the end of the Civil War.
MY THOUGHTS AND ANALYSIS
The newspaper clippings were powerful inducement to read another chapter and keep going. The way the story weaves back and forth is fascinating. The setting of the Gossett mansion in 1987, with its vacant rooms and neglected opulence, stands in stark contrast to the prior century. Then it was the grand dame of the plantation. The bounty of the mansion’s library permits a deep delve into the past. The story of the past comes alive with details and the voice of Hannie Gossett.
I found each story compelling and wanted to keep reading. I didn’t mind the back and forth, although the transitions often occurred just at those moments where you knew you wanted to know what happened next in the story on the page. This made it tough, so that going to the other story was a deferment of pleasure, a forced pause in anticipation.
SLAVERY
The pain of slavery comes through powerfully. For example, in this passage:
“We oughta take our chance,” my sister Epheme had whispered to me all them years ago when Jep Loach had us behind his wagon. We’d stumbled off into the woods to do our necessary, just us two little girls. Our bodies were still and sore from walking and shippings and nights on the froze-up ground. The morning air spit ice and the wind moaned like the devil when Epheme looked in my eye and said, “We ougtha run, hannie. You and me. We oughta, while we can.”
My heart pounded from fear and cold…”M-m-marse is comin’ to f-fethc us,” I’d stammered out…
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Hannie Gossett is strong, self-reliant, and accomplished at survival. Her Marse’s daughter, Missy Lavinia, is cruel and then so wounded she is helpless. Juneau Jane is prideful and entitled until the reality of her situation sinks in. The villains, Jep Loach and the Marston gang, color the terrain that Hannie moves through; and it isn’t until near the end we meet a hero ray of sunshine in that bleak landscape.
THE DEEP SOUTH
In the 20th century story, there is a feeling of moisture, rain, dampness that pervades and swamps the tone of the story, subtly bringing an element of danger. This scene is an example:
On either side of the raised lane, neatly planted rows of what looks like spiky grass stand half submerged in water. The sunshine is gone, and the vibrant green seems startlingly bright against the cloudy day—as if …
I realize now what has stopped me in my tracks…I can’t continue on at the moment. A log is blocking the trail ahead…only it’s not a log. It’s an alligator.
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Benny Silva is pushing through her own secrets to reach her students and prove to them they have options and a reason for hope. Her unexpected alliance with the youngest Gossett heir, Nathan, provides her some power, some respite from the challenges she faces. Her students Lil Ray and LaJuna, and the young boy Tobias, their Aunt Sarge and others from the Oink and Cluck fortify her connection to the community with their own brand of outside-insider residence.
THE RESOLUTIONS
I loved the stories of all of the characters, the novel as written, all the way to the end. And then I was disappointed. I had built up an expectation that the stories would line up more succinctly between the 19th and 20th centuries. Then I expected more challenge and also more reward on both fronts. Ultimately, I wanted more details and more progress on the stories to a point a little further on (in the 19th century) and without the jump in time (in the 20th century).
I also disliked the addition of Benny’s secret, suddenly revealed, which seemed out of step with the focus and journey of the characters in the novel. We were apprised that she had some past and some reasons to hide from it, but the ending just didn’t harmonize and didn’t resolve in a satisfying way for me.
THE BOOK COVER
On a completely different note, I also didn’t like the book cover. It reminded me of an English textbook I had in high school. And it did nothing to make me want to read the story. Fortunately, I purchased the book online based on recommendations without seeing the cover!
RECOMMENDATION—4 ½ stars
Despite the drawbacks, I found this novel inspirational and so engrossing that I would highly recommend it. The novel breathes with the sense of place, time, and cultures. It is a great read for those who like history, stories of overcoming challenges, and stories about the southern United States.