KAYAN : Book 3/26 : Travels with Charley - In Search of America by John Steinbeck
I dare say John Steinbeck and I share a particular kind of jetset restlessness that would make a man order a custom car, name it Rocinante, and take a roadtrip across America with his sidekick, a French poodle named Charley. (Throw all your poodle-prejudices out the window right now.) For me, that restlessness took me to Africa. But it's the same thing. People like us are enchanted with the idea of going/being anywhere-but-here. That enchantment can strike anytime. I think that's why I love airports so much: it's the one place that embodies the feeling of going somewhere.Steinbeck uses delicious words to create paintings of the landscape of America: from the crisp cold frost of Maine, to the howls of Badlands, to the majesty of the California redwoods, to the oven that is the Mojave desert. However, it is not landscape which satisfies; it's the people. From roadside diners, to truck stops, to a Texas ranch; it's the mindset, the differences, and the commonalities of a people that define this country, even if that commonality is sometimes apathy.
As an added bonus: Steinbeck has revealed the best pickup line to dig into the psyche of America: "Would you like a cup of coffee?" And Charley rocks as the sidekick dog. I'll have to read more Steinbeck - he's awesome. Thanks to s.no.2 for the book.
Recommended
Beverage pairing: Lemonade (not pink)
posted by Kayan at 12:36 PM
3 Comments:
Nice. Even your writeup conveys the feel of being on the road, windows down and the radio playing, watching the landscape of America go by. Even your beverage choice. :)
I've been meaning to reacquaint myself with this book. I met it only once before, when I was way too young to appreciate it, way back in 8th or 9th grade when my parents got me a writing tutor one summer (I could write just fine if given hours or days, but was coming up blank on timed essays as in the Academic Pentathlon, and oh how it panicked my parents so) and this was the book my tutor used as source material to write from. Bleh. :D
But I could talk for hours about road trips and small town America. Absolutely love it. Rich, too. It's just amazing the people you meet. I met a waitress in a small nothing-town in Utah who was actually from my hometown of La Palma. Though when I told her I was from there, too, I think she thought I was just making that up. Heh, what can ya do?
It gives one hope, doesn't it?
I enjoyed reading that writeup. Here's to more of the same (travels and book summaries).
I love steinbeck!!!! I read lots of his books... never read this one though. And The Red Pony :).
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