Travels with Charley in Search of America: (Centennial Edition)
Selected Book Details
- Paperback
- Author: John Steinbeck
- Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
- Release Date: February 2002
- ISBN-10: 0142000701
- ISBN-13: 9780142000700
- List Price: $15.00
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Summaries and Customer Reviews provided by Amazon
SummaryWith his dog Charley, John Steinbeck set out in his truck to explore and experience America in the 1960s. As he talked with all kinds of people, he sadly noted the passing of region speech, fell in love with Montana, and was appalled by racism in New Orleans. |
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
enjoyment
Rating:
Whom today is qualified to review the written word of Steinbeck? Not I! The quality of the product however is high and the produce handling unequaled. Thanks
Bad Quality
Rating: 
The tape's sound quality is extremely bad. Not only does it sound like it has an echo, it also fades in and out constantly. I am not impressed with this purchase. Even though I got it for a good price, the shipping and handling fees were a complete waste of money, considering the tapes are inaudible.
Travels with Charley in Search of America
Rating:
I felt as if I was actually taking a long road trip, meeting interesting people and viewing America on the back roads of the 'real' U.S. Steinbeck has a way of visulaizing with words. You travel with him, seeing thru his eyes both the beauty and history, sometimes dark, of our country. Wonderful Steinbeck book.
Travel nearly 50 years ago has resonance today
Rating:
It's remarkable that John Steinbeck's "Travels With Charley" can seem so contemporary, given that it reflected his experiences across America in 1960, and his interest in looking back at his life at least as much as looking to the future. Stenbeck's remarkable skills of observation and his ability to winnow material to the most memorable aspects enable him to carry off this tough trick. And yet, it's also a book that feels very dated in parts, and, frankly, I find it surprising that most reviewers have given it such high ratings, given the things that hit with a clank occasionally.
In his chronicle of 3 months of driving in the fall and early winter of 1960 in a custom-made truck camper, Steinbeck hits on things that concern us today, and which were just coming to the consciousness of thoughtful people at the time. He writes about the dying towns in Maine, the growth of suburbs (especially in Seattle and Portland), the homogenization of food along the interstates and of language everywhere. He writes about Americans' restlessness to move from their birthplace, but yet, the tug to return. He writes about our love affair with the automobile and the open road -- and the damages that it creates.
Steinbeck renders these ideas with lovely language, humor, and often-biting commentary. This book is more colorful, more mellifluous than his novels, which are searing but not always pretty. Who knew he could be such a prose stylist?
And when Steinbeck takes on race in the final chapters of the book, his commentary is decisively angry. It's almost a surprise because it comes at the end of a book in which he's mostly trying to find a Thoreau-like calm amidst a churning America. When he gets to the worst churn in the country at the time -- the nascent civil rights movement and the violent reactions to it -- he steps right into the flame. And remember, this is in 1960, and he writes that he knew the "end game" would be equal rights, but he was worried about the route it would take to get there. Brave stuff.
So, those are the positives. However, I found a few things to be jarring in this book that I would imagine would not appeal to a current reader.
1. He's sexist. Women are judged by their looks and their morals (and men are supposed to always pursue the loose women, but marry the pure ones).
2. He drinks constantly, and drink seems to be the lever that opens up everyone. He'll pull off the road, drink a beer or two, and then start driving again through the night. On the one hand, his drinking reflects his time and his temperament; on the other hand, I'm always suspicious of someone who claims to do his best work while under the influence.
3. He's corny. He hates traffic. He talks to his dog. He pours a belt and sits a spell by the river. He sees a rancher by the side of the road and stops to make small talk. The rancher responds with one-word sentences. Steinbeck remarks: "You talk too much." The rancher answers: "That's whut the missus says." Ugh. How about this one... Speaking to an unnamed storekeeper in Wisconsin, he asks him why people are afraid to have serious conversations any more, and when they do, it's only to complain. "Why, I remember when people took everything out on Mr. Roosevelt. Andy Larsen got red in the face about Roosevelt one time when his hens got croup. Yes, sir, those Russians got quite a load to carry. Manh has a fight with his wife, he belts the Russians." I felt like Steinbeck was traveling in an alternative world in which dialogue had to be Woody Guthrie lyrics.
4. Finally, I found the dog parts (Charley) to be tiresome as often as they were interesting. I certainly didn't need to hear about Charley's urinary habits and problems over and over again. After the first time, I didn't it was funny that Charley was supposed to be a sophisticated dog because he was born in France. I can't stand it when people focus on their dogs instead of on people, especially if other people are in their presence. I know I'd be trying to kick Charley under the table if I'd been sitting with Steinbeck.
So, while this is an interesting book and has some charming and memorable vignettes, it's definitely a "period piece" in the same way that a film noir from the 50s is a period piece. If you like the period, it's great. If you don't, it will feel very dated.
Steinbeck relays simple truths with warm tone
Rating:
Steinbeck is able to portray such simple, candid moments during his travels - most of which are spent within his own head - in a warm and memorable tone throughout "Travels with Charley." What is remarkable about this particular piece is that it is rather unremarkable; Steinbeck never intended to write a masterpiece, and that simplicity in style is appreciated. Steinbeck is able to take sometimes sentimental, sometimes angering mental snapshots from his travels to create a small nugget of truth that accurately reflects his America. His perceptions are relevant to almost any American, any traveler with an open mind as he is able to piece together a simple scene of America, stuck in time, and somehow pull an eternal message from each experience.
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