4 - United States – “The architecture of the Arkansas Ozarks” by Donald Harington, October 2013 (Score 5.2)


This book is one of a series set in the fictional Ozark township of Stay More. It makes no pretence at being great literature, but tells its story in a humourous, homespun, down-home kind of way. I enjoyed it very much, and will look for others in the series.

Two brothers, Jacob and Noah, have walked from the east until they reached a pleasant, secluded valley in the Ozark Mountains. A Native American is living nearby when they arrive. Relations stay peaceful, and he moves on eventually. The house which they build becomes the nucleus of the village of Stay More when a pioneer woman and her large family arrive and settle nearby.

Later visitors include a regular trader/peddler/conman, more settlers, and itinerant preachers of various persuasions. One of these has a wonderful skill in storytelling. His stories are so graphic that the congregations can picture what is happening.

It moves on through the years and generations as Stay More grows, through the American Civil War (which had been going for two years before anyone in Stay More heard about it), the First World War, the Depression, and the Second World War.

By the end of the story Stay More is practically a ghost town with very few inhabitants. I gave this book a score of 7.5