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The Dog of the South

by Charles Portis

A pursuit traced through receipts and road miles

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Awards & Recognition

  • Author recognition

    #1 New York Times bestselling author

    The metadata describes Charles Portis as a #1 New York Times bestselling author; this is an author-level claim, ...

AlbakiReads Editorial

A pursuit traced through receipts and road miles

When Ray Midge’s wife leaves with his car and credit cards, the spending records become his map. His pursuit leads from the United States to Mexico, with a bail bondsman also following the trail. There, Ray encounters Dr. Reo Symes, whose need for a ride to Belize adds an unexpected passenger and destination to the trip. The journey unfolds through improvised transport and accumulating complications, bringing together marital pursuit, travel, and comic misadventure across borders. The receipts give the chase an unusual practical starting point, while the shifting company and route widen its scope beyond a straightforward search for a runaway spouse.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Adults interested in comic road-trip fiction and pursuit plots.
  • Readers who enjoy stories involving marriage, travel, and cross-border journeys.
  • Fans of Charles Portis seeking another of his novels.

Themes

Marriage and separationPursuit and travelChance encountersImprovisation on the road

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

From Charles Portis, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of True Grit, The Dog of the South is a novel about a husband on a crazy road trip pursuing his runaway wife.

"Hilarious . . . A very American voice." --Bob Odenkirk, The Week

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 farther 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.

"[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

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