I also imagined that back in 1960, when Steinbeck took the trip (the book was published in 1962), the man-dog interactions would be more, well, manly - as in silent, no emotion expressed. Moreover, I had read that taking Charley along was an afterthought, a suggestion by Steinbeck’s wife, Elaine. Many conversations on route begin ‘What degree of dog is that?'” Steinbeck writes, “A dog, particularly an exotic like Charley, is a bond between strangers. Sure, he’s the title character but I figured he might be a literary device. I also didn’t expect Travels with Charley: In Search of America, to have so many scenes with Charley in it. What I Expected from Travels with Charley John Steinbeck and CharleyĪs I wrote over at A Traveler’s Library, I didn’t expect the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, one who is known for his social consciousness, to write a book that was so much fun and that was so self reflective. I just might not engage in the conversation as vigorously after the first week as in the beginning. I’ll never close off the comments (although I’ll monitor them, as I monitor all comments). Feel free to ask your own or just say whatever you like as long as it’s more or less related to the book. On this blog, it’s all about the animals - dogs, cats, camels, donkeys… whatever creatures come along on the trip described in the book. I hope you will go over there and participate. Over at A Travelers Library, I wrote about Travels with Charley as a work of travel literature, and posed a few discussion questions at the end. And no one will know if you - or I - have a second or third glass, and at what time of the day or night we have it. Besides, I hear wine is a key component of book clubs. So I’m a little nervous about this new venture. Let’s just say I’m a bit housekeeping challenged. When I got over that, I was reluctant to have people that I didn’t know very well over to my house.

After years of graduate school literature classes, I didn’t want to discuss books for a while I just wanted to read them without pressure to say what I thought. True confession: I’ve never been in a book club, real or virtual, much less organized one of my own. Ace Woestendiek paying tribute to John Steinbeck

Travels with charley dog