Local Souls is a sweeping novel by Allan Gurganus about three intertwined lives in a small North Carolina town. Set in the late 1950s, the novel follows the misadventures of Hilary Grabner, the daughter of a local newspaper editor; Claymond Campolongue, a hot-headed World War II veteran; and Marim Griffith, the daughter of a prominent local doctor. Each person is struggling with their own identity and destiny in a town that places a high value on family, faith, and tradition.
The novel begins with Hilary, who is on the cusp of adulthood and questions her place within her family and her small Southern town. As a newspaper editor, her father has provided her with a relatively privileged upbringing, but Hilary yearns to break out on her own and make a name for herself. During her senior year of high school, Hilary meets two local boys: Claymond and Marim.
Claymond is a troubled veteran struggling to put the horrors of war behind him and find his place in civilian life. He rebuffs Hilary's advances at first, but eventually he begins to confide in her and soon they become close friends. Meanwhile, Marim is a studious young woman trying to live up to the expectations imposed by her wealthy, upwardly mobile father. The three form an unlikely bond as together, they explore the outside world and discover new dimensions of themselves.
In the world of Local Souls, racial tensions are present but not overtly addressed. The characters go to some lengths to pretend they don’t exist, in particular when it comes to Marim’s wealthy doctor father. Each character navigates the new world they have discovered with their own unique set of troubles. The town, an unfriendly place for them to find respite, churns with old resentments, rivalries, and tales of people being ‘cut down’ when they stepped out of line.
The author expertly captures an evocative portrait of small town Southern living and crafts a story as moral as it is heartbreaking. Characters’ inner lives are explored in great detail and over the course of the novel, readers are given insight into the motivations behind the characters’ behaviors and how those behaviors affected their relationships with those around them.
The novel ultimately focuses on how each of the characters navigates their own late 1950s America. As they face the tensions of the forward-thinking youth against the classic conservatism of the older generations, they come to terms with the unresolved tensions in their own lives as they move toward adulthood. The novel culminates in a dramatic climax as they all find their own very different paths that ultimately bring them together as friends.
Local Souls is an impressive debut work of fiction by Allan Gurganus. His thought-provoking story explores difficult issues with complexity and understanding, and his characters bring these issues to life with humour and grace. A powerful examination of the past and the power of finding your own way in the world, this novel remains an essential read for lovers of Southern literature.
