The Lost Hours [Audio CD]

The Lost Hours by Karen White (Rated: C)
New American Library
ISBN: 978-0-451-22649-5
Published: April 2009
Trade Paperback 343 pages

This story is set in Savannah, Georgia, so immediately I imagined a story about romance, intrigue, and "the South". I wasn't disappointed. Karen White is an excellent storyteller with lots of imagination, weaving in dark secrets with poignant family situations ranging from Alzheimer's to blindness, life-long friendships and more. Throw in racial issues and the reader is kept fascinated to the end. The timeline flicks back and forth from present-day to the 1930's segregated South.
The author uses an interesting technique, alternating between first person accounts and third-person narrative thus allowing the reader to get a rounded out understanding of the story. There are 4 primary characters, each with their own fears, insecurities, regrets, guilt. In short, real people!
Earlene/Piper disregarded her grandmother, Annabelle, even before her death, thinking that "long before the Alzheimer's got her mind, a fear of living had taken hold of her spirit, convincing me that my grandmother had no stories worth listening to." However, in researching her deceased grandmother's past she unearths a buried box containing a bunch of scrapbook pages and a picture of 3 young girls. In her grandmother's attic she stumbles upon a hidden room. The scrapbook pages, the room, a blue baby sweater and blanket, and a 1939 newspaper clipping of the death of a black baby boy are at the heart of the mystery in the book. "There are some things that should never be forgotten - like the worth of an old friendship, and a secret to take to the grave", is the comment made by Lillian, one of Annabelle's childhood friends, who holds the answer to the mystery.
The character development is excellent. We see Lillian move from a child, to a beautiful young woman to a 90-year-old matriarch who is full of love for her granddaughter, and who, in her own words "attributed her longevity to her stubborn ability to never confuse grief with regret." We note the change in Earlene/Piper from a bitter, self-centered person to a loving, considerate woman open to new possibilities in her life. My favourite person was Helen. Read the book to experience the incredible nuances of her personality, talent, love.
The descriptions of the oak trees throughout the book are impressive. They seem to take on the attitudes of the people in the story at various times. At one point the narrator calls them "grieving oaks", then as a "canopy of old men protecting what was theirs." Finally, they become "strong and supple again, each limb bearing the bud of new life, each shawl of moss swaying with the promise of forgiveness."
I highly recommend this book. Family relationships, family secrets, friendship, love, renewal, forgiveness, and the strength to go forward are explored in this intriguing tale, well told.

I have to say first that I really enjoyed the characters and the unfolding of family secrets in this novel. That's why I gave it four stars. White is excellent at developing believable, interesting central characters, and the book is worth reading for that reason. However, what bothers me in every one of the three novels I've read of hers is the predictabilty of the plot. From the very beginning we know that certain characters will, inevitably, get together, and that Piper will get back on that horse. There's even an epilogue which was so predictable I only skimmed through it. I like my fiction to be a little bit more like life, and less contrived in its effort to provide a tidy, happy ending for all. Then there's the depressed, drug-addicted wife (whom we never meet) who kills herself because she read about a crime committed by another character, and which has nothing to do with her. That really struck a sour note with me; it was too ridiculous and should never have been included. Finally, when the crime is revealed, it's done so in the form of a relatively emotionless letter. Since this was the climax of the story, I kept wondering why White didn't have the character tell it in her own words, instead of leaving us with this shell of a confession.

Despite my criticism, I would not discourage anyone from reading this novel who enjoys well-written (for the most part) light fiction with a lot of southern atmosphere. It's just that the author seems to have the potential to create something deeper but chooses to provide a crowd-pleaser instead.

Another wonderful reading experience by author Karen White. This book just lets you lose yourself in the story and lives of the characters. Get a copy and enjoy.