I came by Donald Harington by chance a few years ago, with his Stay More novels. Recently I bought his "almost complete works" trilogy and started off by reading his first novel, "The Cherry Pit". This is the story of Clifford Stone, depressed curator of arcane Americana in Boston, who decides to go back to his hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas, in search of himself and his future. He is dragged into a spiraling vortex of events linked to people from his past, ending up in the most absurd situations. I don't know the American South well (actually, not at all), but it seems Harington paints life there with a detailed and loving brush. I found his writing to be a bit too verbose this time, with an exaggerated use of arcane words. But, as usual, he was a pleasure to read.