The Dog of the South

Categories: Literature & Fiction

Charles Portis's comic novel follows Ray Midge, an Arkansas man whose wife has run off with her ex-husband in Ray's Ford Torino and his credit cards. Ray sets out to track them down and drives to Mexico and then to British Honduras. Along the way he meets Dr. Reo Symes, a disgraced physician and talker full of schemes, who becomes his traveling companion. Published in 1979, the book is admired for its deadpan humor and eccentric characters.

Recommended by 1 person

• Anthony Bourdain: “His book, 'Dog Of The South,' is also brilliant”