Charles Portis (and thinking of Ronald, Andy's Cousin)

I'm really looking forward to reading this and knowing that it exists, The Dog of the South (1979)

From The New Yorker "What Charles Portis Taught Us" by Wells Tower postscript

In part, I love Portis because I feel less mean when I read him. It's not just that his novels are gentle and funny; it's that Portis's books have a way of conscripting the reader into their governing virtues - punctuality, automotive maintenance, straight talk, emotional continence. Puny virtues, as Portis himself once put it, yet it is a great and comforting gift (in these days especially) to offer readers escape into a place where such virtues reign.
It's hard to know whether Portis's work ushered much comfort into his own life. My sense is that he was lonely. I imagine he had a fair bit in common with Jimmy Burns, described in 'Gringos' as a "hard worker," "solitary as a snake," and, yes, "punctual." Portis never married and had no children. He never published another novel after 'Gringos,' from 1991.