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El libro de los amigos perdidos: La historia de tres jóvenes mujeres que buscan una familia en medio de la destrucción (Umbriel narrativa)

El libro de los amigos perdidos: La historia de tres jóvenes mujeres que buscan una familia en medio de la destrucción (Umbriel narrativa)

  • Downloads：9591
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2021-09-06 10:15:59
  • Update Date：2025-09-24
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Lisa Wingate
  • ISBN：8416517452
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

A new novel inspired by historical events: a story of three young women on a journey in search of family amidst the destruction of the post-Civil War South， and of a modern-day teacher who rediscovers their story and its connection to her own students' lives。

Lisa Wingate brings to life stories from actual "Lost Friends" advertisements that appeared in Southern newspapers after the Civil War， as freed slaves desperately searched for loved ones who had been sold off。

Louisiana， 1875 In the tumultuous aftermath of Reconstruction， three young women set off as unwilling companions on a perilous quest: Lavinia， the pampered heir to a now-destitute plantation; Juneau Jane， her illegitimate free-born Creole half-sister; and Hannie， Lavinia's former slave。 Each carries private wounds and powerful secrets as they head for Texas， following dangerous roads rife with ruthless vigilantes and soldiers still fighting a war lost a decade before。 For Lavinia and Juneau Jane， the journey is one of inheritance and financial desperation， but for Hannie， torn from her mother and eight siblings before slavery's end， the pilgrimage westward reignites an agonizing question: Could her long-lost family still be out there？ Beyond the swamps lie the seemingly 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， seems suspicious of new ideas and new people， and Benny can scarcely comprehend the lives of her poverty-stricken students。 But amid the gnarled oaks and run-down plantation homes lies the century-old history of three young women， a long-ago journey， and a hidden book that could change everything。

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Reviews

Ali Gforreal ，

I really， really wanted to love this， given how much I inhaled “Before We Were Yours”。 The plot of it was excellent- going between a story of a freed slave in the decade after the Civil War in LA/Texas， to 100 years later， in a rural， poverty stricken LA town with a teacher helping her students grow from incorrigible to engaged in uncovering historical roots。 However I found myself often re reading paragraphs to get myself back into the story， and found it slow going。 Although I completely appre I really， really wanted to love this， given how much I inhaled “Before We Were Yours”。 The plot of it was excellent- going between a story of a freed slave in the decade after the Civil War in LA/Texas， to 100 years later， in a rural， poverty stricken LA town with a teacher helping her students grow from incorrigible to engaged in uncovering historical roots。 However I found myself often re reading paragraphs to get myself back into the story， and found it slow going。 Although I completely appreciate the authenticity with writing in the vernacular of the time， it added to my struggle to remain engaged。 While Hannie’s character was beautifully evolved and full of character， the other main character， Bennie， was sorely lacking。 The majority of the book described her as being a broken person with past trauma that prevented her from getting close to someone。 It teased you to the point of annoyance， like either reveal what her issue is or drop hinting at it。 It was only the last page of the book where the bomb was dropped as to her troubled past。 I wish it would have been revealed earlier and interwoven into the story to add to the complexity of her character。 I really， really wanted to love this and am so disappointed I struggled。 Maybe others will be more engaged than me， as the plot is worth the time to explore。 。。。more

Velvet Sellin ，

Not my favorite by Lisa Wingate。 I have loved everything else。

Kathryn Casey ，

I so enjoyed this book。 It transported me back to a time long ago， a different world， one with courage， goodness and incredible evil。 As much as I've read about the Civil War， I knew little about the Reconstruction era。 I'm saddened that I hadn't considered the difficulties faced by newly freed slaves when they set out to find their lost loved ones。 This book brought that home in fascinating and often heartbreaking detail。 Both story lines in the book are quests。 The first to reunite a family; t I so enjoyed this book。 It transported me back to a time long ago， a different world， one with courage， goodness and incredible evil。 As much as I've read about the Civil War， I knew little about the Reconstruction era。 I'm saddened that I hadn't considered the difficulties faced by newly freed slaves when they set out to find their lost loved ones。 This book brought that home in fascinating and often heartbreaking detail。 Both story lines in the book are quests。 The first to reunite a family; the second to build a family。 Lisa Wingate wrote such a good book。 。。。more

des ，

I felt this book started a bit slow。 As it built on the characters I was drawn in。 Just as I was going to stop the epilogue， the twist surprised me。 I loved listening to it as the dialect & accent really added to the story。

Cathy Sibre ，

Story about slaves trying to find lost relatives after the civil War ends; also， the story of their descendants in present day Louisiana。

Neva ，

This one is going on my top shelf of Favorites。 The writing and details of this US southern story were addictive for me from beginning to end。

Mindy ，

3。25*

Hilarie ，

Interesting enough concept to keep me reading through to the end。。。but ultimately a bit of a hackneyed story and the pacing really dragged。

Nancy Gangestad ，

I gave this book a 4 because it took several chapters to get into it。 Almost had given up on continuing with it， but glad I didn't。 When I finally did get into it couldn't put it down。 Even though I really liked this read it had nothing to do with The Tending Roses series。 But overall a good read！ 😊 I gave this book a 4 because it took several chapters to get into it。 Almost had given up on continuing with it， but glad I didn't。 When I finally did get into it couldn't put it down。 Even though I really liked this read it had nothing to do with The Tending Roses series。 But overall a good read！ 😊 。。。more

Angie Marshall walston ，

A little slow but good read

Anne Stumpenberg Huszar ，

Hørt som lydbog

Melissa B ，

I received this from GoodReads First Reads。 What an amazing book of historical fiction！ I loved the characters， the story， and the format of the book。 I had never heard of the newspaper articles before。 The means of spreading the names through churches was fascinating。

Nedra ，

I enjoyed this book finally， but it took some time to get into the 1875 story。 But in the end this tale of history and historian working toward answers about identity， secrets and unearned shame in a double tale。 I loved the teacher story， of course， and how she could engage her students finally through finding their personal histories。

Mum ，

Learned quite a bit about things I never thought about before。 It’s definitely worth reading。

Lana ，

Starts a little slow， but quickly picks up pace to the point I couldn't put it down！ I loved the intertwining of the two story lines。 Everyone should experience a teacher like Benny Silva at least once in their education。 Starts a little slow， but quickly picks up pace to the point I couldn't put it down！ I loved the intertwining of the two story lines。 Everyone should experience a teacher like Benny Silva at least once in their education。 。。。more

Dara ，

I didn't realize when I started this book that it is a dual story a hundred years apart。 This book follows Hannie shortly after the civil war and emancipation as she travels with her former master's daughter and her mulatto half-sister。 They're searching for the girls missing Father and along the way start helping formerly enslaved individuals write letters to a Lost Friend column trying to reunite families separated by slavery and war。 There is also a second story set 100 years later and follow I didn't realize when I started this book that it is a dual story a hundred years apart。 This book follows Hannie shortly after the civil war and emancipation as she travels with her former master's daughter and her mulatto half-sister。 They're searching for the girls missing Father and along the way start helping formerly enslaved individuals write letters to a Lost Friend column trying to reunite families separated by slavery and war。 There is also a second story set 100 years later and following Benny Silva， a new teacher in Louisiana trying to connect with her students from broken homes and low income situations。 She has them start a project researching ancestors that have passed away and bring them to life by telling their stories。 The narratives from the two times nicely interweave and it was a great story about learning about your past and choosing your own future。 I highly recommend this book。 。。。more

Mike Connell ，

Wingate illustrates the tragedies associated with the breakup of families under slavery and its continuing impact after the Civil War and even to the present day。 There were a lot of unknowns for the former slaves such as the location， status， and even names of former family members。 The Southwestern newspaper recounting requests for finding lost family members was sort of like a paper social media。 However， it was clearly not a very fast or effective means。 The black churches were instrumental Wingate illustrates the tragedies associated with the breakup of families under slavery and its continuing impact after the Civil War and even to the present day。 There were a lot of unknowns for the former slaves such as the location， status， and even names of former family members。 The Southwestern newspaper recounting requests for finding lost family members was sort of like a paper social media。 However， it was clearly not a very fast or effective means。 The black churches were instrumental in spreading the word as preachers would read accounts from the pulpit since many parishioners were illiterate。 Slave owners had purposely kept slaves from learning to read。She chooses to switch back and forth between 1875 and 1987 in alternating chapters。 It eliminates superfluous details by summarizing subsequent developments at the start of each chapter。 The dialect was realistic but sometimes hard to follow。 Wingate chose the last year of Reconstruction when federal troops were still in the South， prior to Jim Crow。 It refers to the violence of the KKK and the Knights of the White Camelia。tShe showed the miscegenation and keeping of mistresses as well as various mixed-race categories。 The character of Moses （or Elam Salter） is a federal agent who operates in the wild world of Texas as a sort of a bounty hunter。 He has attained relatively high status for a black in the South among those whites who known him。 Hannie Gossett is actually related to her owner through her mother。 She is amazingly self-reliant and resourceful， like a Harriet Tubman like character。 Lavinia is not developed much as a character。 Juneau Jane， however， the mulatto child， is shown to be both educated and sharp。tIn the 1987 portion， Wingate depicts the de facto segregation in the Louisiana town of Augustine as well as the dissolution of African American families。 There was not much parental support of education with some notable exceptions， essentially older black women。 Almost no one came to back-to-school night。 It was a challenge to teach in such schools。 Some teachers were just putting in their time。 The local police support the leading white owners in trying to suppress a new teacher’s project to have her students research their history from slave times。 It is not really the African Americans who are clamoring to uncover the past， although the children do become enthusiastic over the project。 In the novel， the legal rights of Juneau Jane are lost on appeal to the Louisiana Supreme Court， which alludes to the state support for Jim Crow afterwards。 The novel is a readable narrative that brings to life the frustrations of the newly freed slaves trying to reconnect with loved ones。 The sections from the 19th century are much more engaging that those from the 20th century。 。。。more

Cathy ，

So i cheatedAt about page 100 only read the 1987 chapters。 They were cheesy and i rooted for the teacher。

Mary Wojniak ，

3。5

Lee Yahnker ，

I was very excited to read this book。 It had such good reviews but the different timelines were hard to follow。 I gave up and read all the odd numbered chapters as they were the ones from the 1800’s。 I read the epilogue to see how the story fitted together。I’m probably one of the few to be bored with this book。

Emily Short ，

Not sure what all the hype is about with this one - it just seemed kind of “meh” to me。

Laurie ，

Maybe just poor timing to read it when I was busy but the plot was frayed。 Like she tried to cover too many topics。 Big secret wasn’t all that earth shattering。 Loved the main topic and setting。

Ellenjohnson ，

At the onset I thought it would be really heavy - and parts were， but I really enjoyed the story and how it all came together in the end。

Hurst ，

One of my favorite books of 2021。 Love how the family connections and value of knowing your family's story。 One of my favorite books of 2021。 Love how the family connections and value of knowing your family's story。 。。。more

Pearson， ，

The author creates an interesting story about a female sharecropper who gets caught up in a family scrabble that tells the reader about what happened to many of the freed slaves in Louisiana and other southern states。 A great read。

Robin Hunsinger ，

I learned a lot about this period in American history and how black slave family kept connected and carried their stories。

Michele ，

I really enjoyed the characters of this book。 A great fictional story about real life events！！

Patti ，

OMG！ I haven't pounded through a book so fast in quite a while。 LOVED IT！ Which I had the classroom rules down on paper。 I also wish the end of the book didn't feel so rushed。 Wow！ Highly recommended！ OMG！ I haven't pounded through a book so fast in quite a while。 LOVED IT！ Which I had the classroom rules down on paper。 I also wish the end of the book didn't feel so rushed。 Wow！ Highly recommended！ 。。。more

Denae ，

Once again， our Book Club read was a huge hit！ 2nd book by this author， and I've enjoyed reading them both！ She does a great job of going back and forth between the two periods of time without making one era more interesting than the other， or having the book feel messy。 Once again， our Book Club read was a huge hit！ 2nd book by this author， and I've enjoyed reading them both！ She does a great job of going back and forth between the two periods of time without making one era more interesting than the other， or having the book feel messy。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=El libro de los amigos perdidos: La historia de tres jóvenes mujeres que buscan una familia en medio de la destrucción (Umbriel narrativa)

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=El libro de los amigos perdidos: La historia de tres jóvenes mujeres que buscan una familia en medio de la destrucción (Umbriel narrativa)&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,El libro de los amigos perdidos: La historia de tres jóvenes mujeres que buscan una familia en medio de la destrucción (Umbriel narrativa)&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0