1. She hitchhikes with a trucker named Norm, then meets and travels with a pair of protesters, Elizabeth, a ditzy but sweet and likeable girl, and Howard, who sells apples he carves into celebrities.

2. André Gide praised The Asiatics as "an authentic masterpiece"; Thomas Mann called it "brilliant." First published in 1935 and virtually unavailable for years, this extraordinary novel tells the story of a young American--the unnamed narrator--who hitchhikes his way across Asia, from Beirut to China, living off the land and depending on the hospitality of the people he meets along the road.