Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books

The Sound and the Fury (1929) is a William Faulkner novel that describes the downfall of an aristocratic Southern family. It is also a line from Shakespeare’s Macbeth describing life as “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing” (Act 5, Scene 5, lines 16-27). In this chapter, Lula’s big moment onstage devolves into nothing more than sound and fury.

The scene is set when Lula and Mitch take the stage in front of the Wainwright statue. They both make introductory remarks in front of television cameras about saving their Southern heritage. However, they are quickly upstaged when Isaac, Elijah, and Bella come on the platform and unfurl a banner: “We are descendants of the rapist Augustus Wainwright, the banner read. We want him removed from Jackson Square” (157). When the crowd challenges them, Isaac says he has the DNA results to prove his claim. In the pandemonium that follows, Lula notices that neo-Nazi Logan Walsh has positioned himself onstage and is drawing a gun. She tells Mitch to stop him. Misunderstanding the command, Mitch launches himself toward Isaac, trips on a mic cord, and knocks Bella unconscious when she falls from the stage. As people rush to Bella’s aid, Lula is left to brood over her fleeting 15 minutes of fame.

A Caledonian Fling isn’t a real novel, but the name is reminiscent of the Highland Fling, a Scottish folk dance. Both Highland Fling and Caledonian Fling also evoke the genre of bodice ripper romances set in Scotland. In the novel, a long-separated couple engages in a fling of their own.

Bernice Hutton is an elderly Troy widow who wishes she had run away to the North years earlier with the love of her life—a Black man named Samuel Yates. Both Samuel and Bernice married other people, and their spouses are now deceased. Samuel moved away, but Bernice stayed, which she now regrets: “She was scared of the people in this pissant little town—of what they might think of her and what they might say to her father. Bernice’s cowardice cost her happiness. It had been a terrible price to pay” (161).

Now, Bernice and Sam have made a new start as a couple living in Troy. They are in the town square after the rally when they run into Beverly. She mentions her suspicion that weird things have been happening ever since Lula opened her little library. Since Beverly can’t be seen lurking in front of Lula’s home, she asks Bernice and Sam to peek at the titles. They discover A Highland Fling, but the dust jacket conceals an erotic novel entitled The Proof of the Honey, which Sam and Bernice eagerly take home to read.

How the Word Is Passed (2021) by Clint Smith is a book about racial history and how it is discussed or suppressed in American culture. In this chapter, the novel examines how the news media disseminates fear and paranoia.

Keith Kelley is waiting to get a tetanus shot in the office of the town’s Doctor Chokshi. Bella rushes in to have her head injury examined, delaying his appointment. Keith is happy to wait because this is an excuse to stay away from his parents’ home. Keith attends college in Atlanta and is visiting his family, but he notices that dread and paranoia fill the atmosphere in the Kelly house. The elder Kellys are afraid to leave the house because of the upsetting news they see on TV. When the doctor finishes with Bella, he chats with Keith, who says that his parents have grown increasingly fearful since he went away to college.

By the time Keith gets back home, his father nearly shoots him, thinking he is an intruder. Then, the boy gets a lecture about all the dangers in the outside world. He retires to his room for the night and thinks about the conservative TV channels that his parents favor: “With the television off, all they’d had to guide them was common sense and good hearts. No one told them to be scared, so they weren’t. No one told them who their enemies were, so they didn’t have any” (176). Keith prays that his parents will come back to their senses someday.

“Outlaw” may refer to a novel about the real Robin Hood. However, within the context of this chapter, it also relates to Mitch Sweeney’s Hollywood career playing villain roles and his newfound willingness to challenge his former MAGA allies.

Dr. Chokshi’s next patient is Mitch Sweeney. He requires stitches for his head injury. Chokshi thinks, “He didn’t relish the thought of being alone with a giant who’d just knocked a prom queen cold and traveled with a Nazi escort. But he took a deep breath and closed the door” (179). Mitch is curious about the doctor’s heritage. Chokshi explains that he comes from New York, as did his parents, but their ancestors were Indian. However, Logan Walsh once accused Chokshi of coming to Troy to bomb the local Walmart. Mitch is upset to hear this and admits that Logan, with whom he is staying, may not be right in the head.

The two men bond over their love of Indian food, and Chokshi says that he’s found much to like about the South and its people. Mitch is amazed that an Indian doctor would choose to work in a small Southern town. Chokshi admits that the region has trouble attracting medical talent for fear of prejudice. He says that the town’s statue conveys that impression even though Mitch tries to defend the general as the symbol of honor and tradition. Chokshi advises Mitch, “Who knows, Mitch, maybe one day they’ll put up a statue of you. But first you better get on the right side of history. Stop hanging out with book burners and racist assholes” (184). The notion that playing against that type might get him more attention intrigues Mitch.

Manhood: The Masculine Virtues America Needs (2023) is a book by conservative senator Josh Hawley. In it, he defends the Evangelical Christian definition of masculinity. Hawley has been described as a neo-Confederate. In this chapter, Logan is following Josh’s advice to the letter.

Logan Walsh lives alone in a house outside of town. His father was a local judge and an abusive parent and spouse. Logan’s mother tried to die by suicide, and Logan killed his father, passing the death off as a hunting accident. After his parents both died, Logan lost his sense of direction until he fell under the influence of Nathan Dugan and the neo-Nazi group in Troy: “Two days after he met Nathan, Logan swallowed the red pill and entered a different world, with new friends and a mission” (187).

Logan has become increasingly concerned by the changes sweeping through Troy. He thinks, “The truth was—and not everyone was ready to hear it—the only way to protect what mattered was to wipe all of them off the planet” (192). On the night of Mitch’s accidental assault on Bella, Logan waited outside the clinic to take his guest home, but he saw Mitch’s brother, Jeb, drive up. Logan idolized Jeb when he was the boy’s little league coach. He’d wished that Jeb was his father, but the coach never recognized the abuse that Logan was suffering. On this evening, Jeb said that Mitch would be going home with him instead of staying with Logan. The young man was furious at this turn of events. At that moment, he saw Beverly and the Wright boys near the monument and vowed to take vengeance against them all.

The Lost Family: How DNA Testing Is Upending Who We Are (2022) by Libby Copeland is a book that describes the impact of genetic testing on cultural identification. In this chapter, Beverly describes her own genetic investigation when she uncovers many upsetting facts about her ancestor, Augustus Wainwright.

As Beverly and the Wright brothers clean up the mess in the town square left after Lula’s disastrous presentation, Beverly thinks back to her initial DNA investigations: “Beverly found herself captivated by the women on the tree—particularly those who sat alone on a branch, with no husband beside them. They had given birth, but the father of their child remained unknown” (196). She was especially interested in uncovering Augustus Wainwright’s many crimes against the enslaved Black women he raped. As more data accumulated in DNA databases over the years, Beverly finally found her way to the Wright family: “She held out her hand. ‘My name is Beverly Underwood. I’m your cousin.’ ‘Yeah, we know.’ The younger boy broke into a grin as he shook her hand” (198). Isaac mentioned that his own DNA research unearthed Wainwright cousins all over the state. Beverly enlists the support of the Wright brothers to host a Wainwright reunion in the town square, hoping that the massive numbers of people involved will sway the community to remove the general’s statue.

The Hemingses of Monticello (2009) by Annette Gordon-Reed is a book about Sally Hemings and her descendants. Thomas Jefferson enslaved her, and she bore him multiple children. The town of Troy has its own version of this story through the Wainwright family.

The morning after the town square debacle, Lula is opening her emails to find a link to a news story. In it, Mitch Sweeny expresses his regret to the town and offers to host an upcoming Wainwright family reunion the following Saturday. Lula is furious at this traitorous behavior and is determined to get her campaign back on track.

The Catcher in the Rye (1951) is a J. D. Salinger novel about a teenage boy who is expelled from prep school and struggles to find meaning in a superficial world. In this chapter, Logan Walsh mirrors Holden Caulfield’s sense of alienation.

Delvin is delivering the mail when he notices a package addressed to Nathan Dugan that came from Logan Walsh. As he continues his route, he sees Nathan throwing the box in the garbage and driving off. Delvin investigates and finds Nazi flags in the trash container. When the sheriff refuses to do anything, Delvin visits Logan’s house to see why Logan would give up his cherished Nazi flags. In doing this, Delvin is following the same gut instinct that kept him alive as a soldier in Afghanistan: “The first thing it had taught him was the most lethal creatures on earth were young men with a few bad ideas and nothing to lose” (210).

To his surprise, Delvin sees Jeb Sweeney pulling up in the driveway too. The men confer about what might be wrong with Logan. They suspect he may be planning to attack the people at the Wainwright reunion the next day. Jeb asks Delvin to create a distraction so he can plant some surveillance cameras on Logan’s property. Delvin goes inside on the pretext that the package he sent to Nathan got damaged.

Logan invites the postman inside while he finds a new box for the flags. In Logan’s office, Delvin notes that he has packed duffels full of guns and ammunition: “A hand-drawn map of Jackson Square had been pinned to the wall behind the desk. Symbols indicated an entry point, targets, and an exit. On the desk was a copy of The Catcher in the Rye” (214). Noting Delvin’s gaze, Logan realizes that his visitor has seen the map, and he threatens to kill the postman. Delvin tries to reason with Logan, asking him if he has read The Catcher in the Rye. At that moment, Jeb arrives on the scene carrying a pistol. Finding himself cornered, Logan shoots himself.