Synopsis: Renowned American author, John Steinbeck, takes an anonymous cross-country road trip with the companionship of his Parisian bleu poodle, Charles le Chien, known affectionately as Charley. Together, Steinbeck and Charley travel in a camper named the Rocinante, after Don Quixote’s horse. It is just weeks after Labor Day in 1960 when Steinbeck begins his journey “under the big oak trees of [his] place at Sag Harbor.” His purpose? Rediscovering America:

“I, an American writer, writing about America, was working from memory, and the memory is at best a faulty, warpy reservoir. I had not heard the speech of America, smelled the grass and trees and sewage, seen its hills and water, its color and quality of light. I knew the changes only from books and newspapers. But more than this, I had not felt the county for twenty-five years. In short, I was writing of something I did not know about, and it seems to me that in a so-called writer this is criminal. My memories were distorted by twenty-five interesting years.” – Travels with Charley (John Steinbeck)

Review: Steinbeck acknowledges throughout his book that the yearning to go is visible in the eyes of many Americans he encounters along his trek. Folks young and old express an eagerness to drop everything and seek out something… anything. Today, the eagerness remains. Travels with Charley is as relevant today as ever. Many of the problems Steinbeck addresses in this book are pertinent to today’s world. Steinbeck considers the politics of the times and seeks to listen to the perspectives and concerns of those he encounters along his journey.

A major concern that emerges in Steinbeck’s writing is an interest in defining the American identity – a question at the forefront of American writing since the nation’s earliest days. Forming a national identity is complicated by the diversity of the nation in all applications of the word – landscape, lifestyle, backgrounds, beliefs. Along his route, Steinbeck tastes the many flavors of America, noting the harmony and discord they create.

Travels with Charley is not a glamorous, romanticized depiction of America, but a candid account of his experiences traveling across the country. Steinbeck writes honestly about his struggles with loneliness, fear, tunnel vision, and traffic, while recounting beautiful sights – meandering country roads ripe with autumn’s harvest, seeing the aurora borealis on a cold, clear night, and experiencing the magic of the mystical island known as Deer Isle.

If you’ve ever wanted to pack a bag and hit the road, if you’ve caught the viral “restlessness” and simply wanted to see more, pick up a copy of Travels with Charley. Steinbeck’s book is a much-needed escape to experience the ordinary in a rather extraordinary way.

“When the virus of restlessness begins to take possession of a wayward man, and the road away from Here seems broad and straight and sweet, the victim must first find in himself a good and sufficient reason for going. This to the practical bum is not difficult. He has a built-in garden of reasons to choose from. Next he must plan his trip in time and space, choose a direction and a destination. And last he must implement the journey. How to go, what to take, how long to stay. This part of the process is invariable and immortal. I set it down only so that newcomers to bumdom, like teen-agers in new-hatched sin, will not think they invented it.” – Travels with Charley (John Steinbeck)

Eat: Chili Con Carne

Drink: Caramel Applejack Coffee

Curious what Travels with Charley would be like if Steinbeck set out today?  Check out Travels with Mabel, whose author is following Steinbeck’s route with his adorable companion, Mabel.