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I had not seen that article before, thanks for sharing. I don't know any more story behind this novel, except: as I understand it, after "The Grapes of Wrath," Steinbeck felt like he was really struggling. Critics didn't care for his later work (although, as this article suggests, his gifts were still powerful). Thus the increasing sense of dislocation and crisis leading to "Charley." Except for a collection of previously published articles, "Charley" was his last book before dying at age 66 in 1968.

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Sending this on to a friend who also admires Steinbeck, Paul McComas

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