I See By My Outfit

I bought this book because of the author, and then I ignored it for ages because, when it came right down to it, the idea of it reminded me of On the Road--which I couldn't stand. And I HATED the idea that I'd read this and hate it, as well, having so loved Beagle's other works. I suppose I was afraid that the picture of Beagle offered in this book would somehow tarnish all of the novels, and I don't know what finally led me to pick it up... but I'm so glad I did.

It's lucky I didn't come across this book in high school, or my family might have been horrified and my life might have been very different, but that's the only caveat for this book. Dated as the actual journey and slang may be, there's something unutterably fresh and wonderful show more about this book. The fashion in which Beagle tells it--with equal beats of hope and dismay, naïve trust and skepticism in the future, and simple fascination with the world--at times reminded me of the nature writing of Edward Abbey, and made me want nothing more than to go back in time and join along for this journey. Reading the book is, of course, as close as we can come... but it is a rather wonderful adventure.

Read it. show less

Peter Beagle? Are you one of the most underrated stylists of the twentieth century? I don't know, I just know your prose is pitch perfect and sweetly honest and I could read it forever.

This is billed as a travel memoir, and indeed, if you want to read a book about the author of The Last Unicorn riding cross-country with his best friend on scooters in 1963, here you are. But this book is really the story of a friendship, of growing up and, of course, apart. It reads like a novel, and perhaps for this reason I felt like I got to know Peter and Phil like they were my own friends. Most memoirs are like funhouse mirrors, but this one felt like a window.

I know I'll be reading this book again.

In 1964, Peter Beagle and his lifelong friend Phil left their home in the Bronx to travel across the country to San Francisco – on scooters. The two young men are liberals in search of guitars and with a keen eye for American people. Along the way they entertain a pawnshop full of people who admire their talents as Jews. They meet a down-on-her-luck prostitute (maybe) in the glitter of Las Vegas. They stop at the home of the philosophical parents of an acquaintance. They travel through rain and snow and wind and heat. The scooters themselves have personalities and suffer breakdowns and miraculous repairs. And yes, their theme song is the Smothers Brothers comic rewrite of “Laredo.”

“’Time is a made up thing, like money. show more Numbers running around in a circle. There are plenty of circles waiting make a slave out of you, you don’t have to make them up.’” – Mr. Beckman, p. 166 show less

I read an early edition (if not first) mm pb bound in boards by the library... iow, a difficult book to get through. But I did, because of lines like "We are in the desert now; before, it was around us" as the boys get on off the highway onto a smaller road. They are NYC Jews, creative, imaginative, clever, educated, silly... with aspirations to be rogues. A sort of a picaresque, I guess... but it does make me want to give the author's [b:The Last Unicorn|29127|The Last Unicorn (The Last Unicorn, #1)|Peter S. Beagle|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1524764327s/29127.jpg|902304] one more try (someday). It also makes me want to look up the poet [a:James Stephens|82937|James show more Stephens|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1397764298p2/82937.jpg] for "I think the mountains ought to be/ Taught a little modesty." show less

I read this memoir when it was recently published and I was a hippie-wannabe child, and adored it. I was a bit nervous reading it again*, but aside from a few winces at the misogyny of the time, I loved it again. (In the afterword in this printing, Beagle mentions wincing himself.) It's a tale of friendship, and growing up, and seeing America.

*One naturally fears that the Suck Fairy has gotten to a book that you loved years ago.

Memoir (is that the right term?) of a trip Peter Beagle took with his artist friend Phil something from New York to California on their scooters (which apparently were less un-cool back then, or maybe that meant something different). I don't know how this compares to today's memoirs; nothing really happens in this one. They take a trip. The most stressful thing that occurs is Peter's scooter breaks down on the highway and they have to jury-rig it to get to a place that can fix it properly.

But even so, it is a great read. It's not exactly a trip that could be taken in this day and age, or maybe I just don't know the right kinds of people. They camp, they rent rooms in cheap motels, and they stay with friends-of-friends who they've never show more met before. They hear fascinating stories, play guitar and sing, watch the landscape change as they cross the country, and eventually get where they're going (to Enid, Peter's future wife). show less

Written after "A Fine and Private Place" and before "The Last Unicorn," you can see the fabulous talent that Beagle has, but has not yet fully realized. Like "On the Road" but better. It is a simple story made profound and moving by love and attention. Seriously, read it.