The Dog of the South

The Dog of the South by Charles Portis is a picaresque, humorous story of Ray Midge's rambunctious journey to Central America to retrieve his stolen Ford Torino, and maybe win his wife back. It was first published in 1979. The book description from the publisher describes it best: “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.”

A writer hero of mine mentioned that this book was his favorite road trip novel, and I can see why. Out of print for many years, this novel as well as Portis' other books including NY Times Bestseller True Grit were lovingly brought back to life by The Overlook Press. Narrated by main character Ray Midge, he is quirky, deadpan, knowledgeable about all things history and science, and dead-set on retrieving his beloved Ford Torino and possibly his wife Norma, if she'll have him back. Midge meets a variety of whacky characters on his way to Central America including Dr. Symes and his mother whom the locals call Meemaw, wayward Christine and her obnoxious son Victor, a boy named Webster who works as a “bell hop” at a hotel in Belize, and compatriot Jack Wilkie. The journey is irascible and rambling. That Midge even gets close to finding his wife and precious car is a miracle in itself. It's been a long while since a novel made me burst out laughing and this novel delivers on the funny. There are several scenes of funny situational comedy as well as oddball conversations between Midge and so many characters. The laughs for me just kept coming. And Midge's declarations. When something surprised or shocked him, he'd call them out. “The Sons of Pioneers!” “The strength of materials!” “California dopers!”

Not that this is a perfect novel, though. Many of the conversations go on for pages without any scene action or description of what the characters are doing. And the ending is rushed and lackluster. After taking the entire novel to find what he was looking for, he gets back home in only a couple of paragraphs. There was certainly more room for reflection of the whacky trip and a more detailed denouement. But this is nitpicking really, because the novel was so thoroughly funny and engaging. I couldn't wait to get to the next chapter so see what new shenanigans Midge would find himself in.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I highly recommend it. I would give this book 4 and 1/2 stars.