This is a book that surprises you. It surprises because reading Steinbeck isn't like this, I thought. Yes it is about the land but it is about the man, the dog, and the camper crossing it.
It was first published in 1980 and told the story of a 1960 road trip the author had taken. The three key characters in the plot are Steinbeck, the dog, and the camper.
His dog is a French Poodle named Charley who is the perfect dog for Steinbeck. The pick up truck is a camper that he created, ahead of his time, and was named Rocinnte.
It seems likely that Steinbeck gave some thought to choosing the name, Rocinante, which was also the name of Don Quixote's horse in the novel Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes. In many ways, Rocinante was not only Don Quixote's horse, but also his double: like Don Quixote, he was awkward, past his prime, and engaged in a task beyond his level of skill.
Steinbeck wrote that he was moved by a desire to see his country on a personal level, since he made his living writing about it. I felt like I was learning about the land and the people through his eyes. The dog was an important character in this story and seeing the land through Steinbeck’s eyes was the story.
I had never had a high regard for French Poodles but apparently I was wrong.
Quotes
“I was born lost and take no pleasure in being found.” ..
“I have always lived violently, drunk hugely, eaten too much or not at all, slept around the clock or missed two nights of sleeping, worked too hard and too long in glory, or slobbed for a time in utter laziness.
“A sad soul can kill you quicker, far quicker, than a germ.”
“I am happy to report that in the war between reality and romance, reality is not the stronger.”
“I wonder why progress looks so much like destruction.”
“We value virtue but do not discuss it. The honest bookkeeper, the faithful wife, the earnest scholar get little of our attention compared to the embezzler, the tramp, the cheat.”
