Top Five Charles Portis Books
(Portis had a slender bibliography—five novels, plus an edited miscellany of essays, journalism, and drama—but there doesn’t seem to be any consensus whatsoever among his readers as to which of his books is the best. These are simply my personal top five, in order of preference.)
True Grit (1968)
The Dog of the South (1979)
Norwood (1966)
Escape Velocity: A Charles Portis Miscellany, edited by Jay Jennings* (2012)
Masters of Atlantis (1985)
* whose own favorite Portis book, Gringos (1991), is the one that missed my cut here, which just goes to show you . . .
— April 8, 2026