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leslie115 's review for:
The Book of Lost Friends
by Lisa Wingate
I only finished this novel for a book club. I liked learning about the "Lost Friends" ads and appreciate the importance of reckoning with one's history, but I dislike Wingate's storytelling: Hannie's journey bored me, and Benny's final reveal about her past was anticlimactic. On top of this, I was irritated by Wingate's sentimentality and hints of gratuitous romance. If you're looking for romance in the Reconstruction Era, you'd be better off reading [a: Beverly Jenkins|199260|Beverly Jenkins|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1509684481p2/199260.jpg].
I am incensed by Wingate's seeming portrayal of William Gossett as a "good" slave owner. The portrayal brings to mind the more impactful [b: How the Word Is Passed|55643287|How the Word Is Passed A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America|Clint Smith|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1603917194l/55643287._SY75_.jpg|86766325]. One of the interviewees is a tour guide at the Whitney Plantation, which focuses on the lives of slaves. She claims the most common question from white visitors is whether there were any good slave owners. Her response: "It's like saying, hey, this person kidnapped your child, but they fed them well. So, they were a good person."
I am incensed by Wingate's seeming portrayal of William Gossett as a "good" slave owner. The portrayal brings to mind the more impactful [b: How the Word Is Passed|55643287|How the Word Is Passed A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America|Clint Smith|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1603917194l/55643287._SY75_.jpg|86766325]. One of the interviewees is a tour guide at the Whitney Plantation, which focuses on the lives of slaves. She claims the most common question from white visitors is whether there were any good slave owners. Her response: "It's like saying, hey, this person kidnapped your child, but they fed them well. So, they were a good person."