Thursday, February 23, 2012

Book Review-Travels with Charley


"A dog is a bond between strangers."
John Steinbeck


http://sagharboronline.com/sagharborexpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/web-Charley-and-Steinbeck.jpg 



Today marks the birthday of famed author John Steinbeck (February 27, 1902-December 20, 1968) creator of three of my favorite novels East of Eden, 
The Red Pony, and Of Mice and Men.    Steinbeck also wrote another lesser known book, Travels with Charley, which somehow I never got around to reading.   Since the book is a dog lover classic I decided it was past time I read it.   

 The book details a 1960 road trip that Steinbeck took with his beloved poodle, Charley.  He was in ill health at the time, suffering from a serious heart condition, and decided he need to make the trip so he could see America, perhaps for the last time.  Charley too, is older, at ten years old Steinbeck refers to him as "an older gentleman."  Though still clearly in robust shape and able to enjoy the adventure, he suffers some health problems along the journey.  Reading one definitely gets the sense that the trip is the last hurrah of two old men.

Charley and Steinbeck travel 10,000 miles from Long, Island NY through Maine, The Pacific Northwest, California, Texas, and the South.   They make the voyage in their camper which Steinbeck calls Rocinante after Don Quixote's horse.   

 http://allevenson.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/rocinante-fwd-spare1.jpg


 Along the way they stops to talk to a variety of people meant to represent a cross section of "ordinary" Americans.  Steinbeck is always somewhat of a chauvinistic author and nearly everyone he speaks to is a man.   His political opinions and perspective are also clear in the text.  Steinbeck crafts a very harsh portrait of a Canadian border official highlighting the man's pompous devotion to protocol and romanticizes the freedom of a family of migrant workers.    In some cases he seems to admire advances in technology,  for example he marvels over mobile homes which were evidently a new thing in 1960.  Steinbeck seems to relish the freedom they provide their owners.   On the other hand he is baffled by the various food dispensing machines he encounters in rest stops and mourns for the lost art of home cooking and the sort of food he enjoyed years ago in Europe.

Of course I was more interested in Steinbeck's relationship with Charley then his descriptions of the people and the country side.  Its clear he adores his dog and admires his intelligence, regularly assigning to Charley human levels of understanding.    Steinbeck's conversations with Charley are used as a literacy device to express his feelings about what he sees on the trip and his understanding of America.   He also uses Charlie to reach out to people around him, regularly commenting on Charley's friendliness and ability to make people comfortable.   The encounter with the migrant workers that Steinbeck so admires is prompted by Charley.   Steinbeck's flares of temper at officious bureaucrats are nearly all the result of their attempts to stop Charley from doing something, such as when the Canadian Border guard does not want to let Charley across the border because he doesn't have his rabies certificate.


In all the book is rather dated, it simply does not stand the test of time as well as Steinbeck's novels and today seems to exist mostly as a relic of a lost period in American history.   The writing too, though good enough, is not on-par with his other works.   Still for a dog lover it is a nice story and certainly motivation to take your own dog on a journey, whether around the country or to the local park.  Here are my own little Charley's preparing for a trip in their "Rocinante" or more accurately our Honda.


7 comments:

  1. What a great book review! Travels with Charley sounds interesting enough that I just may see if my library has it. It sounds kind of retro and I do like retro! I love the pictures of your "Charleys" in the Honda!

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  2. Where did you all get to go on your adventure in the Honda? Have a great weekend!
    Love,
    Payton

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  3. That's interesting that it doesn't hold up as well as his fiction. We still might check it out!

    Your pal, Pip

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  4. I've always found it interesting how dogs provide a bridge for people. They can be a companion to someone who may not be good with people and even at times draw that person into experiences with others that would otherwise never have occured.

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  5. I have never read Travels with Charley or The Red Pony. I will have to put them on my list. I love the seats of your car!!!! I thought we were the only family with dog hair lined seats - I mean hair so thick in the back seat of my car than when the door is opened tuffs of hair blow out!!!! LOL!!! We hope you had a great day at the park and a wonderful staycation!!!!

    Nina, Myshka, Sasha, Betsy, Lucy, Phoebe and Lily

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  6. I spent my early years living in Salinas where Steinbeck hailed from. I loved the Red Pony though it was so sad and Travels with Charley as well. It's been a long time since I read them...I should read them again to see how I like them as an adult versus a child.

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  7. Oh I forgot... I love your little jackets you have on...cute! May I ask where you got them?

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