The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate

The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate

A story that emphasizes the importance of knowing our past, in order to embrace the future.

In all honesty, this is not the type of book I would normally pick up to read. Historical Fiction does not often interest me, but this book was chosen and given to me as a gift by my daughter, so I read it. I found it to be a fascinating and eye-opening read.The author brilliantly tells this story through two time periods, making the deep connections of the histories of families, people and business dividing a town. It walls extremely well-written and easy to follow.

New teacher, fresh out of college in 1987 version of a small town in Louisiana, Benny Silva brings the town together by discovering a connection through books, history and a school project. The fictional story is based off the “Lost Friends” stories featured in a newspaper, distributed widely in order to reconnect family members separated by the slave trade.

Even at the height of slavery, is was common for enslaved families to preserve family connections by passing down verbal stories and heirlooms, as portrayed though the voice of Hannie Gosset (it was common for slaves to take the surname of their owners.)

In 1875, upon the freeing of slaves and the end of slavery. Hannie is forced into taking an unpleasant journey with two younger white girls, with whom she forms a deep bond, despite their conflictive histories.

I love the character development in this story. Every person we meet from each time period is well-rounded. Their personalities and personas feel authentic and relatable, even the people who seem to have sketchy agendas. The dialogue used by the author between characters felt appropriate to the time and culture of the people. It was well done and felt natural.

The book is organized so that each chapter switches viewpoints from Hannie Gosset in her time period, to Benny Silva in the more recent time period. This works to intertwine the connections between the people even more, and it also helps keep the pace of the story moving forward, as well as the readers attention to what happens next. It kept me more focused, as a reader, on finding the importance of the connection, and how future would be impacted by the actions of the people of the past.

The search put into telling this story appears to be extensive. This is a novel of Historical fiction, but the stories seem very real, and the ultra lifestyles come across as very accurate, not to mention the inclusion of the actual, non-fictional elements of the Lost Friends articles. Much of this story mat stem from the author’s mind, but it is based on actual events in History, so why couldn’t a lot of this be true? The events are true and relevant to life as we currently exist. How much do the choices made by our ancestors affect the roles in which we live today?

This book made me think about my own family history and connections, where they would lead, the value of ancestry, and knowing where we came from. There is also a n emphasis on honesty and the grief caused by hiding from our pasts.

I would recommend this book to anyone whether you’re into historical fiction, drama, family relations, cultural dilemma, or just a good story. It’s well worth reading as entertainment, or education.

I have not yet read any of the rest of the many works by this author, but this story has inspired me to look more deeply into the books and stories Lisa Wingate has available.