Whether or not The Architecture of the Arkansas Ozarks is really that different from the other Stay More novels can be debated, but the conclusion of that novel almost marked the end of Harington's Stay More. For over ten years after the publication of that novel, Harington would not, for whatever reason, be able to write and publish another book. Then, in 1986, he published Let Us Build Us a City, which shares many characteristics with The Architecture of the Arkansas Ozarks.

Let Us Build Us a City uses illustrations to head each of its chapters, but the illustrations are multiple, not single, and are photographs rather than pencil drawings. These photographs, like the drawings, reflect the story of the written text. Let Us Build Us a City is a work of history and a work of fiction; it has a character, Kim, who, like Vernon, searches...