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bobbybodenheimer 's review for:
Travels with Charley in Search of America
by John Steinbeck
This book is a brilliant and still-relevant reflection upon America and American character by a master stylist and wit. Most of the story consists of pastiches that reflect upon the differences and similarities of Americans as Steinbeck travelled across the country late in life (this was his next to last book). There is apparently a debate about how much of the book is factual --- apparently a travelogue is supposed to be --- and how much Steinbeck invented. I don't think it matters; what comes through the book is Steinbeck's keen perception that is really engaging, with the fiction perhaps revealing the underlying truth. I enjoyed the obvious connections Steinbeck makes with Thoreau and Cervantes, and the book rarely dragged. Recommended.