The Pitcher Shower

A lighthearted Ozark take on Shakespeare drives the latest whimsical installment of the Stay More series. Landon "Hoppy" Boyd is a Stay More native who roams the Arkansas countryside showing early westerns from a trailer mounted on his truck, providing weekend entertainment for the locals. Boyd has no shortage of fairer sex volunteers, but takes along "Carl" Whitlow—who quickly turns out to be Sharline Whitlow, a comely admirer in disguise. Their traveling show goes swimmingly until the pair meets one Emmett Binns, a preacher who wants to hector viewers after screenings about the evils of film. The two eventually shed the erratic, annoying Binns, but not before he steals virtually their entire film collection, forcing Hoppy and Sharline to show an early Hollywood Midsummer Night's Dream . Life soon imitates art as Sharline takes up with the classy, fast-talking Arlis Faught. Hoppy gets romantic revenge with Faught's erstwhile girlfriend before the book cuts to a formulaic happy ending. Harington (With ) has tackled heavier themes in previous volumes, but sly narrative commentary and winning humor make this a welcome addition to the series. (Sept.)