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Title: Charley was a POODLE!
Review: Written before the plethora of travelogues now available, Steinbeck was, as usual, ahead of his time. His observations are still fresh, and his style of writing as inviting as ever. After reading the other reviews of this book, however, I noticed one thing lacking: any mention of the inescapable fact that Charley was a standard poodle! Most unusual, then as now, to associate poodles with dreams of the open road. But Charley plays an important role in the book, as companion, conversation partner, and comic relief. Would the book have succeeded had Charley been a lab or a beagle? Perhaps--yet the idea of a tough and wisened writer touring the country with a poodle by his side is simply irresistible. Add this to all that is good about this book, and welcome the multitudes of poodle-lovers to its pages.
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