Small Victories

Southern gothic touches lace this dark, portentous story of family lies revealed and grievances redressed. In Passion & Prejudice, Bingham described the bitter conflicts that beset several generations of her own family, which owned the Louisville Courier-Journal. She sets this, her second novel, in a small North Carolina town circa 1958. Louise, the elder of two middle-aged sisters, quietly cares for childlike Shelby, who suffers unpredictable seizures and emotional storms. Baffled and embarrassed by Louise’s refusal to put Shelby in an institution, their beloved cousin Big Tom, a state senator, forces her hand. While casting about for ways to free Shelby, Louise tries mightily to strip emotional blinders from the eyes of Big Tom’s tormented son, a Harvard sophomore heading for a nervous breakdown.

“Sallie Bingham recalls Carson McCullers, Eudora Welty and brilliantly brings their legacy into our modern age.”
— Carolyn See

Reviews:

“Louise, the elder of two middle-aged sisters, quietly cares for child-like Shelby, who suffers unpredictably seizures and emotional storms. Baffled and bewildered by Louise’s refusal to put Shelby in an institution, their beloved cousin, Big Tom, a state senator, forces her hand….”
— Publishers Weekly

“Effectively switching viewpoints… Bingham portrays a dysfunctional southern family at its worst, where the appearance of love is more important than love itself.”

“Bingham writes evocatively of the South and the paralysis of unmet emotional needs.”
— Library Journal

“A shriving family portrait gallery, both compassionate and ruthless.”
— Kirkus Reviews

“The drama in this absorbing novel is not in events, however, but in the tension between Louise, who enjoys the “small victories” of her life with Shelby, and Big Tom, who is embarrassed by them.”
— The New York Times

“The small victory is in making a choice, acting on your own destiny.”
— The Los Angeles Times

From an interview with the author…

Question: “Your new novel concerns the myths that a powerful, wealthy Southern family creates. Why are these families elevated to an almost royal status?”

Sallie: “I don’t think it’s particularly southern. Look at the Bush family. I think it has to do with the fact that 1 percent of this country owns 60 percent of the assets. And in order to justify that inequality, we tend to elevate those families. A hundred years ago it would have been the Vanderbilts. I comes down to this: How do we deal with the fact that the country is so out of balance? One option is to revolt; the other option is to elevate.”

— Interview in the Boston Globe