In this novel Davis Grubb fulfills completely the promise of a towering American talent. A whole town springs to life here, through the "voices" of nearly thirty people-the men, women and children living in the 1920's in a West Virginia river town called Glory. Doctor, criminal, banker, cook, schoolteacher and barber, each one tells his story and they are wonderfully varied, ranging from shattering tragedy to the serene. These lives interconnect and in all of them one woman plays a crucial part. She is Marcy Cressap, the Public Health Service nurse: the story of this indomitable woman's battle with disease and injustice forms the dramatic center of The Voices of Glory.
The many voices of Glory ring separately clear. But here, as in all Davis Grubb's work, one is always aware of the author's special vision-the combination of poetic tenderness with rage against man's cruelty. In The Voices of Glory because of its richness of story, Davis Grubb has found his greatest opportunity. Glory, West Virginia, is certain to take its place with Anderson's Winesburg, Master's Spoon River, and Wolfe's Altamont as one of the enduring creations of the literary imagination.