This is absolutely one of the best books I’ve ever read, and I have read an average of a book a day since I was a child. The story dances back and forth between the past and present, but in the end the two converge in a way that tells a story that every one needs to hear.
The agony and sadness of the slaves before and during emancipation has never been portrayed so strongly. The story is set in the real past with imagined characters. If you enjoyed books like Midnight Library or The Goldfinch, give the Book of Lost Friends a read. You won’t be sorry once you are able to control your tears.