The Book of Lost Friends

The secondary characters of LaJuna and Juneau Jane parallel each other beyond the similarity in their names. How does each character contribute to the emotional growth of the primary character, Benny, in one case, and Hannie in the other. How do these two feisty characters themselves grow as a result of their experience?

Research the Lost Friends database. Read the ads selected for inclusion in this novel. What does the archive of these ads reveal about the human cost of slavery?

Benny’s story leaves three critical questions unresolved: 1) Will she remain in Augustine and complete her teaching agreement; 2) Will she pursue a relationship with Nathan Gossett; and, most importantly, 3) Will she finally seek out her daughter? Why leave the novel open ended? What is the difference between a happy ending and an optimistic ending?

The novel juxtaposes history and fiction. How does the novel suggest history can be brought to life? The pageant excites Benny’s students to engage in storytelling. How can fiction survive in an age of image technology, the Internet, and social media?

Half of the novel is told from the perspective of a formerly enslaved person. Lisa Wingate, the author, is white. Write about the complications of and choices made by authors who write about characters of different races than their own.

Many characters in the novel bear scars. How do scars reflect the novel’s larger interest in the impact of the past and the need to move forward? In what way is slavery itself a scar on America?

The emotional evolution of Nathan Gossett is perhaps the novel’s most radical change. Trace his development under the guidance of Benny and her research into the Gossett family history. How does Nathan change by acknowledging finally the pain of his past and the secrets of his family?

As with any historical fiction, The Book of Lost Friends is as much about history as it is about the present. The novel addresses issues that are relevant and pressing its own contemporary culture, its own time in history. Review the question of race and racism and the heated conversation contemporary America is having with how to handle the legacy of the Civil War. What does the novel bring to that culture-wide dialogue?