Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Short History of a Small Place | 1985 | T.R. Pearson | Buy |
| 2 | Off for the Sweet Hereafter | 1986 | T.R. Pearson | Buy |
| 3 | The Last of How It Was | 1987 | T.R. Pearson | Buy |
| 4 | Call and Response | 1989 | T.R. Pearson | Buy |
| 5 | Glad News of the Natural World | 2005 | T.R. Pearson | Buy |
The Neely series by T.R. Pearson consists of five novels published between 1985 and 2005. Set in the fictional small town of Neely, North Carolina, the books are character-driven Southern fiction with a heavy emphasis on voice, digression, and the peculiarities of rural life.
A Short History of a Small Place (1985) introduced readers to Pearson’s long, winding sentences and cast of oddball townspeople. Off for the Sweet Hereafter (1986) and The Last of How It Was (1987) continued in the same vein, building out the world of Neely through stories that meander and circle back on themselves. Call and Response (1989) and Glad News of the Natural World (2005) round out the series, the latter arriving sixteen years after its predecessor. Reading in publication order is the best way to appreciate how Pearson develops the town and its residents over time.