Victories

by George V. Higgins

A former baseball player, who has been dispirited by his past mistakes, finds his life rejuvenated after he reluctantly agrees to run against a radical hippie in the volatile Vermont state elections of 1968

298 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1990

About the author

George Vincent Higgins was a United States author, lawyer, newspaper columnist, and college professor. He is best known for his bestselling crime novels.

Reviews

[Burt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back in the 1990s, I read Victories by George V. Higgins during a vacation that I look in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge mountains. Browsing in Mobile’s Open Door thrift store a few months ago, I saw a used copy for a $1. I love Higgins’ books for their great dialogue and imperfect characters, so I invested a dollar and re-read it. For all that I remembered, Victories might as well have been completely new to me.

Victories concerns a retired Major League ballplayer (Henry Briggs) who is treading water back home in Vermont. He’s in a bad marriage and working a so-so job as a game warden. Then, a local politico recruits Briggs for a political suicide mission - running against Vermont’s entrenched, incumbent U.S. representative.

While I liked Victories, I guess I was a little let down @ the same time. The novel has Higgins’ trademark strengths - dialogue and believable characters. But, it also has his signature weakness - plot. The politics angle didn’t work as well for me. Reading fiction about politics is like reading fiction about sports – the real thing is more interesting than anything that an author can create. Also, the book’s ending seems tacked on and a little too pat for a realistic writer like Higgins.

Still, I think that Higgins was a terrific, under-appreciated writer. Victories is well worth reading.

[False · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't realize this particular book tied into the previous novel I had just finished: Trust. Many of the same characters reappear with greater or lesser roles, and in different circumstances. I enjoyed Trust and Victories both very much. Having spent time in small New England towns, mainly coastal, I can understand the insularity of them--generational knowledge, and how well Higgins captured that drop under the microscope.

[Ben Brackett · Rating 2 out of 5]

Its well written but I never cared about any characters at all.