The Dog of the South

By: Charles Portis

Narrated by: David Aaron Baker

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.

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

©1979 Charles Portis (P)2012 Recorded Books

funny but a little meandering down the stretch

If you're only gonna read one Charles Porter's book read true grit. I did think this one was funnier than a Confederacy of dunces. There are a lot of racial slurs so be on the lookout for that

A true gem

I laughed aloud at this quirky tale and the characterizations resonated with my knowledge of the American Southwest. David Baker beautifully captured the drawling language, even to my native Texan ear

Cool for a Thrift Shop Find

Bought of a copy of the book at a thrift, ended up finishing via audiobook at work/in passing. Enjoyed a lot of aspects of the story and characters, thought it would focus more on the titular bus but still a cool read. The voice actor was entertaining as well, very enthusiastic and gave a lot of personality to the book.

Top ten audiobook

Great book and a brilliant voice performance to match, almost every character is voiced perfectly

A highlight of my long life of reading

This is one of the most enjoyable books I have read/heard in 50 years of reading. With his startling and hilarious combination of sagacity and cluelessness, the narrator/main character Ray Midge puts me in mind of A Confederacy of Dunces (absent the gravitas). I was smiling all the way through, except when I was laughing out loud.

Long end good start.

The end dragged on and on...which is saying something for such a short book. Not a bad listen though.

The Odyssey of an Everyman

Poignant and funny tale of a seemingly ordinary and somewhat misbegotten soul who pursues a former coworker who has absconded with his wife, car, and credit card. Naturally, there's more to it, with deep insights into the nature and nurture of the human psyche. Twainesque humor and an all around most enjoyable story. Didn't want it to end.

Excellent story telling.

Just loved everything about this tale. His storytelling and characters reminds me of Wallace Stegner or Ivan Doig. Well developed colorful characters, you really care about or strongly dislike! There’s no ambiguity. I really like that his books are about journeys involving growth of character. Along with my absolute favorite narrator, I can’t imagine anyone but David Aaron Baker doing this and other Portis books. He IS Ray. I would like to take a trip with him. A book I will listen to again and again.

Road to Nowhere, well-done

I listened to this because it was free on Audible. I love "True Grit," but other than that I didn't know what to expect. That confusion continued . . . and continued . . . I didn't know what genre it was, I kept waiting for something to happen. Spoiler . . . it doesn't. Well, no discernable plot line emerges, but of course things happen, like car trouble and money trouble and Aztec ruins and hurricanes . . . but nothing connected to the characters or the plot. I kept thinking "this is the strangest book I've ever read." But eventually it caught me. I started hearing the words when I wasn't listening. I realized nothing ever was going to happen and so I should just enjoy it. The narrator is absolutely wonderful, a magician. It is a classic, not for everyone, but a classic nonetheless.

America's Gogol

I tell you I can't answer questions like that. You see me as a can-do guy from the States, but I don't have all the answers. I'm white and I don't dance but that doesn't mean I have all the answers.”
― Charles Portis, The Dog of the South

Charles Portis isn't God. But I believe he can do no wrong and can walk on water when I read his books. In fact, while reading his novels, the exact feeling I get can only be described as eating an overcooked eucharist; some crunchy, holy, wafer of truth that has been burnt by the absurdity of the modern world. I open the world-weary pages of a Portis novel and suddenly I am taken-up in a vision that contains the body and the blood of all that is great with American Fiction. He reminds me of some unholy combination of Cormac McCarthy and Walker Percy -- with a bit of Saul Bellow thrown in for flavor.

Let's get out of the way: the truth. This is the same dude from Arkansas that wrote True Grit. Great book. Fantastic novel and both movies were fantastic. Great. Good. Hallelujah! Now let's put that away. There is so much more to Charles Portis than just one amazing book. This isn't some one-hit wonder novelist. This guy is the real deal. Serious, put him next to Flannery O'Connor. Yes, he is that fantastic. OK, perhaps, we can't get ahead of ourselves. So, put him close to Flannery, looking up at her, but not with a craned neck. Roy Blount, Jr. has posited that "No one should die without having read [The Dog of the South]". Ron Rosenbaum thinks Charles Portis is America's Gogol. I shit you not.

Basically, the story is about a man's search for his runaway wife. She has run off with her ex-husband to Mexico and Belize and the narrator, Ray Midge, is going to track them down. This is a world where cars don't run well, the pelicans get struck by lightening, and people and fabricators, are either running to something or away from something. This is a book that is as much about figuring out where one is and where one belongs. It reminds me of that space which exists for a brief second between sleep and wake, after a crazy dream, where one is unsure about which side of the fog is real; and question gets begged which side of the fog one really belongs.