Books Set in North America: Kentucky

Horse, by Geraldine Brooks (2022)

Read:  June 14, 2026

3.5 stars

Books Set in Africa: Congo

King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa, by Adam Hoschild (1998), with a 2005 update

Belgium was a relatively new monarchy when Leopold II became King.  He had an inferior complex as his country was so young and small.  He made the decision to conquer and colonize as much of Africa as possible.  In the mid-1800s, Africa had become one of the last land masses ripe for European colonization, and Leopold was ready.  He had his agents plunder a huge swath of territory surrounding the Congo River.  When rubber became an important product for the nascent automobile tire industry, Leopold had African slaves tap rubber plants.  His agents were brutal and would often kill or chop off the hands of slaves who didn't work quickly enough.

This was a fascinating story of a piece of history that I was unfamiliar with.

Read: June 20, 2022

5 Stars

Books Set in the United States: Louisiana

The Book of Lost Friends, by Lisa Wingate (2020)

The Book of Lost Friends follows two stories:  One story takes place in the 1870 in post-Civil War Louisiana, and is told from the voice of young Hannie, a recently freed slave from the Gossett Plantation.  The other story takes place nearly 100 years later, in 1987, and is told in the voice of a first-year English teacher who finds herself in South Louisiana and living in a house on the former Gossett Plantation.

After the Civil War ended, many of the freed slaved stayed on the Plantations working as share-croppers hoping to earn enough money to acquire some land.  That was Hannie’s position in 1875.  She had a strong memory, however, of having been separated from her mother as a young girl.  She had dreams of reuniting with her family.  Before the Civil War, Gossett Plantation had been a thriving and wealthy place.  The owner, William Gossett, kept his (white) family on the plantation, but kept a secret Creole mistress in New Orleans, with whom he had a free-born daughter, Juneau Jane.  William Gossett favored Juneau Jane, and she was highly educated.  His white children were spoiled and self-centered.

After the Civil War, William Gossett left the family in search of his wayward son.  His daughter, Lavinia, got it into her head to seek her father, and dragged Juneau Jane along with her.  Juneau Jane had her own reason for seeking out William Gossett.  She wanted to be sure that she would receive her promised inheritance.  Hannie disguised herself as their male driver and the three of them took off for Texas.  Along their journey, they discover the list of Lost Friends, where former slaves would have their story seeking their family members published in a newspaper.  The stories would be read and posted in black churches throughout the South.

Jump to 1987.  Benedetta “Benny” Silva found herself in the small rural town of (fictional) Augustine, Louisiana to teach English.  She was running from her own past.  Augustine was the home of the Gossett Plantation.  The Gossetts still hold sway in the town.  They own a major industry in the area and have a lot of political influence.  They send their children to the school across the lake.  Most of the students in Benny’s class were impoverished black students.  They were disinterested in learning until Benny got them interested in researching the town’s history.

Every other chapter was in the voice of either Hennie or Benny.  I found Hennie’s story to be a bit too disjointed.  Her chapter would end in a cliff-hanger, but then, when the her story picked up again, the author would have moved on.

I moved to south Louisiana in 1987.  Later in my career, I did a lot of real estate title work, and researched the lands that were former plantations.  Her depiction of the town of Augustine rang true.  Her brief description of the town’s plans for the unmarked cemetery, however, would not have been permitted under Louisiana law.

As I read the novel, I thought I knew where the author was leading us with respect to Benny.  I did not, however, see the ending as it was written.

The author of this book also wrote the historical novel, Before We Were Yours, which I also read.

Read:  July 15, 2020

4 Stars

Books Set in North America: Caribbean and Louisiana

Island Beneath the Sea, by Isabel Allende (2010)

Island Beneath the Sea, by Isabel Allende, is a historical novel that takes place on the Caribbean island of Saint-Domingue (current day Haiti) and New Orleans from the late 1700s, through the French Revolution slave rebellion of Saint-Domingue of 1804, and the Louisiana Purchase.  The novel follows a young slave girl, Zarité, known as Tété.  The novel is mostly told in third person, but some chapters are narrated by Zarité.

In the 1700s, wealthy French plantation owners ran and operated sugar plantations on Saint-Domingue.  Young Toulouse Valmorain left France to travel to Saint-Domingue to assist his father with the family’s plantation.  He intended to stay only a few weeks, but when he arrived, he found his father dying and the sugar plantation in deplorable conditions.  He soon found himself inheriting the sugar plantation, complete with hundreds of slaves.  When he married, he purchased Tété for his spoiled, Spanish/Cuban bride.

Compared to his neighboring plantation owners, Valmorain was relatively kind, however, he allowed his ruthless overseer handle discipline.  When his wife became ill, Tété tended to her.  Valmorain found the young Tété attractive, and soon called her to his bed.  As a slave, Tété had no alternative but to obey his call, even though she was just a child when he first began his sexual relationshio (rape) with her.  She bore him two children, the first of which was quickly whisked away from her, while the second, was raised in the plantation home along with Valmorain’s legitimate son.

The novel described the beginning of the slave revolt, which was led by the historical figure of Toussaint Louverture.  When Tété learned that the rebellion was approaching her master’s plantation, and that the master and his house slaves would be slaughter, she convincee Valmorain to pack up his family and leave the plantation in the middle of the night.  Eventually, they arrived in Louisiana, where Valmorain, through his brother-in-law, had purchased property and made contacts.

Valmorain had promised to free Tété and her daughter, and had given her a written document to that effect, however, he also convinced her that her freedom would not become effective until she turned 30 years old.

The novel vividly describes life in New Orleans under Spanish rule in the late 1700s before it came under French, then American governance.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book with its glimpse into this historical period.

Read:  January 21, 2020

5 Stars