Arkansas books

Here's a place to talk about fiction/nonfiction set in Arkansas.

John Grisham's book, A Painted House is set in Arkansas in 1952. The Amazon review says there's "not a single lawyer, dead or alive" in this one.

There is also the great True Grit and the Joan Hess books

Joan Hess is very funny!

I forgot about Joan Hess. I love the Claire Malloy books and have read them all. I need to revisit Maggody--I've read only a few of those.

The first book in Charlaine Harris' Harper Connelly series is based in Sarne, Arkansas. Grave Sight

Arkansas novelist Francis Irby Gwaltney: the funny thing is that I canʻt remember the name of the book Iʻve read by him, but I do remember the name of another of his novels which I never did get around to reading: Destinyʻs Chickens (written in the 1960s?) --terrible title, but itʻs still on my TBR.

The one I donʻt remember the title of, but did read and was impressed by, takes place in a state that has "delta" and "mountain" areas -- a thinly disguised Arkansas.(He doesnʻt name Arkansas or use a fictonal name.)

One character represents Orval Faubus, a governor of the 1960s who, though not from the heavily segrationist part of the state, jumped into the Civil Rights v. Segration politics of the era on the ultra-segragationist side.

If you are looking for a good read relating to Arkansas explore the works of Donald Herrington. The Architecture of the Arkansas Ozarks is a humorous account of the fictional town Stay More, Arkansas. Herrington perfectly captures life in the Ozark Mountains by weaving a story around members of the Ingledew family and the various types of buildings and architecture that each generation contributes to their town throughout its history.

This book belongs under both Oklahoma and Arkansas, and I've added it to both.



The Freshour Cylinders by Speer Morgan ****½ 10/12/10

In Depression-era Fort Smith, Arkansas, a part-Indian prosecutor becomes involved in stopping the mining and sale of artifacts from the Spiro Mounds, the Oklahoma site of an abandoned pre-Columbian civilization. Murder, racism, intimidation, and a basic lawlessness in the area, especially among the legal professions, are memorably portrayed in this literary mystery, which draws heavily on the actual history of the Mounds, which were largely stripped of their contents by licensed miners before the government stepped in with a preservation plan. Just as vividly drawn are the lives of people struggling to survive against sand storms, desperation, and hate. The main character, Tom Freshour, was featured in the author's earlier The Whipping Boy, which is set during Tom's teen years at an abusive Indian orphanage. This was a wonderful find and an inexpensive ebook (Amazon, B&N, etc.), but it is also available in physical formats.

I think True Grit would work for Arkansas or Oklahoma. The beginning scenes are in Fort Smith, Arkansas and the chase of an outlaw by the main characters is just across the border in what is now Oklahoma but at that time was Indian Territory, prior to statehood.

I adore To Take a Dare by Paul Zindel and Crescent Dragonwagon, set partly in the fictional town of Excelsior Springs, Arkansas. I believe the town in the book is based on the real town of Eureka Springs. Anyway, it's a young adult novel about a runaway who finds a place to call home.