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Stay More #8
When Angels Rest
The children of Stay More, Arkansas, play war games during World War II, but when soldiers preparing for an invasion of Japan occupy the hills, the real war reaches closer to home and the village takes on a new appearance
- GenresFiction
250 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1998
7 people are currently reading
93 people want to read
About the author
Donald Harington
37 books114 followersDonald Douglas Harington was an American author. All but the first of his novels either take place in or have an important connection to "Stay More," a fictional Ozark Mountains town based somewhat on Drakes Creek, Arkansas, where Harington spent summers as a child.
Harington was born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas. He lost nearly all of his hearing at age 12 due to meningitis. This did not prevent him from picking up and remembering the vocabulary and modes of expression among the Ozark denizens, nor in conducting his teaching career as an adult.
Though he intended to be a novelist from a very early age, his course of study and his teaching career were in art and art history. He taught art history in New York, New England, and South Dakota before returning to the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, his alma mater, where he taught for 22 years before his retirement on 1 May 2008.
Harington is acclaimed as one of America's greatest writers of fiction, if not one of its best known. Entertainment Weekly called him "America's greatest unknown writer." The novelist and critic Fred Chappell said of him "Donald Harington isn't an unknown writer. He's an undiscovered continent." Novelist James Sallis, writing in the Boston Globe: "Harington's books are of a piece -- the quirkiest, most original body of work in contemporary U.S. letters."
Harington died of pneumonia, after a long illness, in Springdale on 7 November 2009.
Harington's novels are available from The Toby Press in a uniform edition, with cover illustrations by Wendell Minor. Since his death, The Toby Press has made available the entire set of Harington novels as The Complete Novels of Donald Harington.
Harington was born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas. He lost nearly all of his hearing at age 12 due to meningitis. This did not prevent him from picking up and remembering the vocabulary and modes of expression among the Ozark denizens, nor in conducting his teaching career as an adult.
Though he intended to be a novelist from a very early age, his course of study and his teaching career were in art and art history. He taught art history in New York, New England, and South Dakota before returning to the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, his alma mater, where he taught for 22 years before his retirement on 1 May 2008.
Harington is acclaimed as one of America's greatest writers of fiction, if not one of its best known. Entertainment Weekly called him "America's greatest unknown writer." The novelist and critic Fred Chappell said of him "Donald Harington isn't an unknown writer. He's an undiscovered continent." Novelist James Sallis, writing in the Boston Globe: "Harington's books are of a piece -- the quirkiest, most original body of work in contemporary U.S. letters."
Harington died of pneumonia, after a long illness, in Springdale on 7 November 2009.
Harington's novels are available from The Toby Press in a uniform edition, with cover illustrations by Wendell Minor. Since his death, The Toby Press has made available the entire set of Harington novels as The Complete Novels of Donald Harington.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 7, 2012
Start with Harington's "Architecture of the Arkansas Ozarks," which is THE epic, broad-brush, 7-generation-deep story of his wonderfully created village of Stay More, Arkansas (in the wild heart of Newton County in the Ozarks), and then move on to the other novels (he wrote 13 of 'em!), which handle the 2-3 year details of specific events in that history. "Angels" details the loves and losses associated with WWII, and pays homage to one of my favorite Hoosiers. No, not Kurt Vonnegut (though he has at least one great WWII story to tell), but Ernie Pyle. My parents worshipped Ernie Pyle, and it appears Harington did, too.
This novel has none of the magical realism that Harington sometimes employees, but it does, like "Lightning Bug," include Harington himself ("Dawney") as an aspiring writer/reporter, and here we get to observe, closer than in any other of his novels, his desire to tell all the stories associated with his beloved, imaginary community.
December 3, 2009
This is the first Stay More novel I've read, and really, it blew me away.... a while back my friend Daren mentioned Harington and how it was criminal he was so little known, and after reading this, I couldn't agree more.
So let me say this loudly from my internet rooftop: Harington is a great writer, on a sentence level and as a plotter. The story is really intriguing, builds toward satisfying elements, and is just brought off with a level of polish on the level of the sentence that reminds you of Dickens or someone like that-- you feel like you're in good hands, lean back, and give thanks for the true and deep-bodied enjoyment you are about to receive.
It doesn't hurt, either, that the book has some moderately ambitious goals, some talk about war stories v love stories, some really nice crossed identifications between the Axis and the Allies, and just generally smart writing about how a really small place can form really significant and surprising connections to a much larger world.
That said, the last movement of this book, what is done to the narrator's gf-- wtf? That seemed on the one hand totally unmotivated, and on the other, totally unresolved at the end of the book. I'm more than willing to accept that the story is picked up in another of the Stay More books, but in this one-- wow, that was a shitty way to end this book! I want it to put the period on the thematic issues introduced above, something about love and war, but man, I just don't see it.
So, a really great book with what, at first blush at least, is a deeply flawed ending.
So let me say this loudly from my internet rooftop: Harington is a great writer, on a sentence level and as a plotter. The story is really intriguing, builds toward satisfying elements, and is just brought off with a level of polish on the level of the sentence that reminds you of Dickens or someone like that-- you feel like you're in good hands, lean back, and give thanks for the true and deep-bodied enjoyment you are about to receive.
It doesn't hurt, either, that the book has some moderately ambitious goals, some talk about war stories v love stories, some really nice crossed identifications between the Axis and the Allies, and just generally smart writing about how a really small place can form really significant and surprising connections to a much larger world.
That said, the last movement of this book, what is done to the narrator's gf-- wtf? That seemed on the one hand totally unmotivated, and on the other, totally unresolved at the end of the book. I'm more than willing to accept that the story is picked up in another of the Stay More books, but in this one-- wow, that was a shitty way to end this book! I want it to put the period on the thematic issues introduced above, something about love and war, but man, I just don't see it.
So, a really great book with what, at first blush at least, is a deeply flawed ending.
August 3, 2011
This book is just lovely in every way. It made me laugh and cry out loud - all on public transportation. I would have been embarrassed if the book was less good. It was described to me as a cross between William Faulkner and Tom Robbins; I think the former more than the later, but just wonderful. Harington has created a world that takes you through many generations in this Arkansas town of Stay More - and this covers the so called Greatest Generation. Thoughtful, moving, and exceptionally well written - a must read for all my reader friends! I can't wait to check out his other books.
December 28, 2010
Such a beautiful book. Thanks Mr. Harington for continuing to delight.
May 30, 2012
I should've recorded a while back when I remembered this more clearly, but there was a scene where a bridge was assessed for load-carrying capacity. Awesome.
November 1, 2016
If you haven't read Mr Harington, start with book one.
The impact on and the view of WW II on the residents of Stay More, and lots more....
The impact on and the view of WW II on the residents of Stay More, and lots more....
March 21, 2017
A beautiful and heartbreaking coming of age story. It's also one of the greatest books I've ever read.
January 11, 2018
More straightforward than some of the other Stay More novels. Less meta and more semi-autobiographical.
My favorite Stay More so far, which is saying a lot.
My favorite Stay More so far, which is saying a lot.
September 27, 2020
I always enjoy spending time in Stay More with Harington’s colorful characters. Another entertaining story, this one set during WWII. Bittersweet ending.
December 21, 2021
A bit of a slow start, but really picked up after the glider appeared. A unique wartime story.
April 18, 2015
את הספר הראשון של דונלד הרינגטון, "הארכיטקטורה בחבל האוזרק בארקנסו", אהבתי. ספר משעשע, שזור בהומור שחור לעילא אבל בשל העובדה שמדובר בספר פנורמי שמניח את התשתית לסידרת הספרים שיכתבו על העיירה האמריקאית שכחות האל, סטיימור, היה בו משהו לא אישי.
כמובן שאני יכולה לכתוב את הפיסקה הקודמת בדיעבד אחרי שקראתי את "כשהמלאכים נחים", ואם את הארכיטקטורה אהבתי, "כשהמלאכים נחים" הקסים אותי, שבה את ליבי והפך אותי למעריצה נלהבת של הרינגטון. כמה חבל שהוצאת טובי נסגרה, שהמתרגם שעשה עבודת קודש בספרים האלה, אסף גברון, לא מתכוון להמשיך לתרגם את יתר הסידרה ושנותר לי מהספרים שתורגמו עוד ספר אחד בסידרה.
"כשהמלאכים נחים" נע בשלושה מישורים: סיפור ילדות בעיירה אמריקאית נידחת בזמן מלחמת העולם השניה, סיפור התבגרות הילדים של סטיי מור שהוא סיפור אוניברסלי של התבגרות באשר היא ובמישור השלישי הסיפור של הקורא, שהרינגטון מעניק לו מעמד מיוחד בכינון המציאות והפיכת הסיפור לאמת.
החלק האחרון בספר הוא אחד החזקים שיצא לי לקרוא. אני חושבת ששני דברים תרמו לתחושה שלי: ראשית הטכניקה של הרינגטון מופלאה ורגישה משלבת את הקורא בחוויה הפרטית של הדמות והופכת אותו לחלק מהחוויה. שנית השימוש בפרטים ביוגרפיים מחיו יוצרים אמינות והזדהות מטלטלת בצורות שגרמו לי להזיל דמעות במשך דקות ארוכות.
רק חבל שהכריכה שהוצאת טובי בחרה משדרת לפלפיות ומסר של "ספר בנות" אני חושבת שהם הפסידו המון קוראים בשל הבחירה הזו בכריכה בצבע ורוד מסטיק.
מומלץ בחום!
"כשהמלאכים נחים", דונלד הרינגטון
הוצאת טובי, 2008, 241 עמ'
כמובן שאני יכולה לכתוב את הפיסקה הקודמת בדיעבד אחרי שקראתי את "כשהמלאכים נחים", ואם את הארכיטקטורה אהבתי, "כשהמלאכים נחים" הקסים אותי, שבה את ליבי והפך אותי למעריצה נלהבת של הרינגטון. כמה חבל שהוצאת טובי נסגרה, שהמתרגם שעשה עבודת קודש בספרים האלה, אסף גברון, לא מתכוון להמשיך לתרגם את יתר הסידרה ושנותר לי מהספרים שתורגמו עוד ספר אחד בסידרה.
"כשהמלאכים נחים" נע בשלושה מישורים: סיפור ילדות בעיירה אמריקאית נידחת בזמן מלחמת העולם השניה, סיפור התבגרות הילדים של סטיי מור שהוא סיפור אוניברסלי של התבגרות באשר היא ובמישור השלישי הסיפור של הקורא, שהרינגטון מעניק לו מעמד מיוחד בכינון המציאות והפיכת הסיפור לאמת.
החלק האחרון בספר הוא אחד החזקים שיצא לי לקרוא. אני חושבת ששני דברים תרמו לתחושה שלי: ראשית הטכניקה של הרינגטון מופלאה ורגישה משלבת את הקורא בחוויה הפרטית של הדמות והופכת אותו לחלק מהחוויה. שנית השימוש בפרטים ביוגרפיים מחיו יוצרים אמינות והזדהות מטלטלת בצורות שגרמו לי להזיל דמעות במשך דקות ארוכות.
רק חבל שהכריכה שהוצאת טובי בחרה משדרת לפלפיות ומסר של "ספר בנות" אני חושבת שהם הפסידו המון קוראים בשל הבחירה הזו בכריכה בצבע ורוד מסטיק.
מומלץ בחום!
"כשהמלאכים נחים", דונלד הרינגטון
הוצאת טובי, 2008, 241 עמ'
August 31, 2011
My favorite of the four Stay More books that I've read. Harington is a wonderful storyteller with a conversational style. The narrator of this novel is a 12-year old boy who models himself after the great World War II journalist Ernie Pyle. Dawny (Donny) prints his own little newspaper to keep the townsfolk informed about the goings on in the larger world and the intrigues between rival gangs of kids in this dying town. Stay More is in Arkansas and as of WWII doesn't have any electricity or running water. News is hard to come by and the battles in Europe and Asia are being reenacted on the town's dirt streets.
Slowly the child's play becomes more harrowing and when an army battalion playing wargames to prepare for an invasion of the Japanese mainland comes to town even the smallest actions of the Stay Morons seem to have reverberations that influence the larger world. Marvelous stuff. Harington had me laughing most of the way through, but I was crying when it counted.
Slowly the child's play becomes more harrowing and when an army battalion playing wargames to prepare for an invasion of the Japanese mainland comes to town even the smallest actions of the Stay Morons seem to have reverberations that influence the larger world. Marvelous stuff. Harington had me laughing most of the way through, but I was crying when it counted.
June 1, 2016
This book is the best of the three I have read so far. It starts with the protagonist Donnie as an eleven year old. The section about the two gangs of kids years 11-18 fighting as the Allies and the Axis is tedious. The plot improves when the Army comes to Stay More to have military maneuvers. This novel is not predictable as the others are not. The one problem I'm noticing is that it would be better to read them in order. The last novel is a later one, and this one is an earlier one. I enjoy some of the play on words and puns.
December 6, 2016
Not the best of Harington's... seems like he's running out of ideas and kind of making it up as he goes along - which is not all bad... but it's a bit lame in terms of relating to characters and events... not his best by any means
April 22, 2008
For the most part, I thought this book was an okay hillbilly novel that just wasn't my thing. In the last 30 pages, I got pissed!
June 22, 2017
Sweet, short, and sad. Highly enjoyable.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews