The Dog of the South

by Charles Portis

Overview

“[Charles Portis] understood, and conveyed, the grain of America, in ways that may prove valuable in future to historians trying to understand what was decent about us as a nation.” --Donna Tartt, New York Times Book Review

Ray Midge is waiting for his credit card bill to arrive. His wife, Norma, has run off with her ex-husband, taking Ray's cards, shotgun and car. But from the receipts, Ray can track where they've gone. He takes off after them, as does an irritatingly tenacious bail bondsman, both following the romantic couple's spending as far as Mexico. There Ray meets Dr Reo Symes, the seemingly down-on-his-luck and rather eccentric owner of a beaten up and broken down bus, who needs a ride to Belize. The further they drive, in a car held together by coat-hangers and excesses of oil, the wilder their journey gets. But they're not going to give up easily.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781590206584
Publisher:	The Overlook Press
Publication date:	06/05/2007
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	232,401
File size:	604 KB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Charles Portis (b. December 28, 1933, d. February 17, 2020) lived in Arkansas, where he was born and educated. He served in the Marine Corps during the Korean War, was the London bureau chief of the New York Herald-Tribune, and was a writer for The New Yorker. He was the author of five novels: Norwood, The Dog of the South, Masters of Atlantis, True Grit, and Gringos.
Charles Portis (1933–2020) lived most of his life in Arkansas, where he was born and raised. He was a graduate of the University of Arkansas, which in 2018 awarded him an honorary doctorate in Humane Letters. He served in the Marine Corps during the Korean War, was the London bureau chief of the New York Herald-Tribune, and was a writer for The New Yorker. He is the author of four other novels, also available from the Overlook Press: Norwood, The Dog of the South, Masters of Atlantis, and Gringos. A selection of his writing has been collected in Escape Velocity: A Charles Portis Miscellany.

Editorial Reviews

Simultaneously hilarious and heart breakingly odd...you find yourself laughing so hard in sections that tears run down your face.

Baltimore Sun

Clipper Audio
For the first time since its publication in 1979, Portis' weirdly humorous third novel has been released on audio. This amusing story from the author of True Grit features Ray Midge, a bore with few interests and even less ambition whose major pastime is collecting old weapons. But when Ray's wife runs off with her first husband, the hated Guy Dupree, along with Ray's car and credit cards, the jilted husband takes to the road, driving from Arkansas to Honduras to reclaim all that he has lost. Narrator Edward Lewis' high-pitched voice and quick delivery perfectly complement the quirky material.

Rochelle O'Gorman

"One hot summer we rented this house near Austin, Tex., that was on a river with natural springs where you could swim. I found a paperback of Charles Portis" Dog of the South in the house, which I'm ashamed to say I stole because it was so funny. I had to have it! Since then I've bought other copies of that book and left them at people's houses in an attempt to revere the karma" Arthur Bradford, author of Dogwalker

From the Publisher

In this comic novel by the author of TRUE GRIT, a quixotic Arkansas fussbudget pursues his wife and her lover after they abscond with his car and credit card. Herein one find the author's storied gift for humorous embellishment, characterization, and regional dialogue--all of which are served up in crisply brisk tones by Edward Lewis. The punctilious accuracy and starchy introversion that make Lewis so satisfying in nonfiction serve him less well here. He does a workmanlike job, albeit stiffly, without much aiding or hindering the chuckles. Y.R. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine

AUG/SEP 02 - AudioFile