Existential Lite
Born in a small Arkansas town, Charles Portis served in the Marines during the Korean War, reaching the rank of Sergeant. In 1958 he earned a degree in journalism from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. He subsequently wrote for various southern newspapers before moving to NYC and working for the New York Herald Tribune, including a stint as the London bureau chief. He left in 1964, returned home and began writing novels, serialized at first in The Saturday Evening Post. His second was True Grit, which made him famous and spawned two successful big screen adaptations. He wrote four others that have attracted a rabid if modest following. A copy of The Dog of the South, his third, published in 1979, recently came my way. Noticing the raves in the blurbs, I gave it a shot. It is another work that makes me feel I’m clueless as to what constitutes good fiction. Set in the 70’s, it’s the story of an Arkansas man, mid 20’s, whose wife has left him for her first husband, who also stole his car. The trail leads through Texas, Mexico and Honduras. It’s an odyssey of oddballs. While reading, I had the feeling Portis was simply riffing. I would characterize the book as “existential lite.” Although hundreds of miles are covered, the narrative essentially goes nowhere, like many, perhaps even most lives. The novel’s strength is the writing. The 256 pages flow smoothly, reading like considerably less. Although I failed to grasp what ardent devotees admire, I completed the book, satisfying my curiosity. I tittered a few times but did not find the narrative amusing overall. The title refers to a school bus converted into a trailer abandoned by a con man the protagonist picks up. 1000+ users at Amazon have rated The Dog…, forging to a consensus of 4.1 on a scale of five. Portis also published a collection of non-fiction. He passed away at 86 in 2020. His fiction has been re-released and is selling quite well. More than four decades since its original publication, The Dog… is ranked 44,148th at Bezo’s behemoth, where at least 13 million titles are listed. To give a bit more perspective, none of my 14 books, print or Kindle, ranks better than three millionth at present. Portis’ first novel, Norwood (1970), was also adapted to film, starring Glen Campbell, Kim Darby and Joe Namath. Photo from Google Images:
Gustav Klimt’s Lady with a Fan, painted in 1918, sold at a Euro auction for $108 million. I think it’s beautiful. Photo from GI:
Headline from newsmax.com: “IG Report: US Lost $200 Billion in COVID Fraud.” It seems something the left shrugs off as business as usual, and the center and right can’t or won’t do anything to stop.
Also from NM: “Trump Only Prez Without Slaveholding Ancestor.” Life is so damn fascinating and entertaining.
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Another gem from the Staten Island goombah:
Although I was pretty sure it wouldn’t rain, I played it safe today at the floating book shop, only upping the display to 30% of the inventory. My thanks to Dave, who donated two thick cook books, and to Gordon, who delivered a handful of paperbacks on health and who took home Killing Patton: The Strange Death of World War II’s Most Audacious General by Bill O’Reilly & Martin Dugard; and to Lou, who bought nine DVDs; and to Dina, who purchased a collection of the works of Jorge Luis Borges, The Covenant by Rachel Henke and the massive The Westmacott-Christie Reader: Six Novels by Agatha Christie Writing Under the Name Mary Westmacott. I am blessed.
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