Travels with Charley

Steinbeck, John. Travels With Charley: In Search of America. New York: Viking Press, 1962.

This could easily be my favorite Steinback story. Maybe because it’s a true one. Maybe because it hasn’t left me wanting to slit my wrist by the last page. Maybe because Steinbeck writes about something I am interested in: traveling the country. His humor and DownToEarth voice make reading easy. I was thrilled when, by the 26th page, Steinbeck had already mentioned Deerfield, MA and my father’s school (the Eaglebrook School). His own son had attended there, hence the shout out.
Steinbeck does a wonderful job describing the small towns, the set-in-their-ways locals who inhabit each place, and the passing autumn into winter scenery. Like all his other tales (fiction or not), he makes the people and places come alive with vivid realism. My favorite part: Steinbeck wants to see the birthplace of Sinclair Lewis. He asks some locals about finding the small town of Sauk. They know the sign, “Birthplace of Sinclair Lewis” but it’s obvious they have no clue who Lewis was.

Booklust Twist: Pearl hides this gem in a chapter called ‘The Beckoning Road”, (More Book Lust, p.20)