On The Road

Rating:
Summary: misunderstood by me, or by nearly everyone else?
Review: I picked up "On the Road" with unclear expectations. The book's cover describes it as "The book that defined a generation!" I wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean, since the Beat movement has always seemed more of an offshoot of a generation than anything close to an entire generation itself. Or, as perhaps was intended, the book is considered to have defined (before the fact, somehow) the rootless, "break-away-from-authority" generation that came later, in the Sixties. That's more likely the case, since it's been cited by plenty of folks as having been a major influence on Sixties thought and behavior. Oddly enough, that influence is always talked about in glowing, romanticized terms by those who are mesmerized by the book's frantic, occasionally lyrical (and somewhat overrated) prose and seductive sense of what it's like to "break away" and "live freely." But if you look at all below this book's surface, or really take time to think about what's going on during protagonist Sal's crazy trips back and forth and back and forth and back and forth across the country -- what emerges is little more than a gussied-up portrait of a bum's life.

If this is freedom, then who wants it, and what really is it good for? And at what cost is the main characters' freedom achieved? They're constantly obsessing on money -- for gas, for food, etc., constantly figuring out whom to bum a ride off, where to steal, how soon to hit up relatives for cash again... repeatedly blowing off women, two-timing, getting into fights, etc. etc. The book's most emotionally engrossing part comes when Sal actually settles down for a while, gets work in the fields and lives with a migrant farm girl with a kid of her own. But then the road beckons, and he's off to his old shenanigans. Most telling of all is the book's ending, where Sal's supposed best friend, and main spokesman for this lifestyle, ditches Sal in Mexico, leaving him to die with dysentery. Sal finally comes to realize that his friend is a jerk; it's not too hard to figure that much of what he stood for should be called into question too.

So to me anyway, contrary to what practically everybody else who loves this book would say, "On the Road" is a repudiation of life without roots -- not an argument in favor of it. And if you just stop to think about what really happens in the book -- how the plot plays out -- what the characters are really standing for (if anything), and what lousy things they're doing to others (including their children in the case of one drug-addicted couple-friend of Sal's) then this book sure reads like a pretty strong statement against living life without regard to responsibility toward others. I could be completely wrong, but that's what I get from it. And that's why I like it. Rootless life is meaningless. Voracious self gratification causes other people pain. And when you live that way ultimately even your best, most admired friends will abandon you.

Some generation.

Rating:
Summary: Don't believe the hype!!
Review: OK, so maybe it represents an important and groundbreaking literary movement and is full of important social commentary, but have you actually tried reading it?? A huge amount of incoherent drivel put together with little thought. It reflects wonderful impulse, but this is also its downfall as it is a pain to read. Important, yes. Entertaining, NO!!!

Rating:
Summary: One Star Only Because I Can't Go Any Lower
Review: I have this thing about having to finish every book I start. It's because I think that no matter how bad the book is, there is a possiblity that something redeeming is just around the corner. I have started and left unfinished only a handful of books in my life. "On the Road" is one. It became torture to read each next page. I got at least three-quarters of the way through and then just had to stop. This may be the worst book I ever read. It is certainly the worst book of supposed "classic" status. The characters are uninteresting and boring. They think, do and say nothing of consequence. Perhaps if they had more interesting companions, they wouldn't be so freaking alienated. I'd slit my wrists if I had to hang out with them for more than a few hours. I have a recollection of reading a comment about this book by a famous writer (maybe Truman Capote) to the effect that "It's not writing; it's typing." I am not positive that I have the quote, its source or its reference correct. If not, it is still an apt comment on this book. The proverbial monkey would not have a difficult time banging this one out.

Rating:
Summary: AWESOME, MYSTICAL AND CAPTIVATING!
Review: This is one of my favourite books of all time. The characters are rich, deep, and possess an off-beat mystical sense of wonder. Follow the trail of frenetic characters, Sal and Dean, as they set out on a wild ride across America. For those who are freedom lovers and remember the nostalgic days of the Beat movement, you will love the escapades and adventures encountered in this book. It is a journey into a search for self-insight and life's true purpose and meaning. Based on the Beat movement of the 50's, the reader will be exposed to the mystical wonder and beauty of life, compassion for humanity, and encounter a world of drugs, sex and jazz. The characters are so vibrant, the actions so real, you will feel as if you are actually there, along side these dynamic characters. Do not miss this book; it is a terrific adventure in an era when freedom meant "doing your own thing, in your own way, in your own time."

Rating:
Summary: Was It...teletype,oilskin art,or shelfpaper..?
Review: What was the roll that Kerouac typed out-nonstop,..the 186,000 words of this,the #1 Beat Classic? Cannister paper? G.Nicosia, major biographer believes it may have been 'Japanese art paper'. Christie's,thru JK's Estate,auctions 'the Scroll' 5/22/2001,with bids starting $1.5 million...that's a lotta Jack... His complete "Book of Dreams' just re-issued by City Lights,L.Ferlinghetti,last major living "Beat"....in SF.

Rating:
Summary: It makes you want to go on the road...
Review: On the Road! This is a great title for this book because that is exactly what it's about. It is not a conventional story, it reads more like an autobiography of the author's trips across the States. What follows is a frenzy of alcohol, sex, drugs, jazz and pseudophilosophy. I enjoyed Sal and Dean's freedom but it was impossible for me to relate to them and Sal's infatuation towards Dean, whom the book jacket describes as "slightly crazed", was difficult to understand. It's clear that Sal admired the intensity and passion which Dean showed in everyone of his crazy plans, but I suspect that underneath there was a surpressed love. I would have preferred, however, to know more about the other characters' motivations (Sal, Mary Lou, Ed Dunkel, etc.) to go on the road, because Dean's passion seemed to eclipse all the other characters.

I was thrilled by the intensity of the characters, this alone earns the book four stars. Not for everyone, but an exciting and thrilling ride.

Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: This book takes off like a rocket and rarely slows down. Each chapter is filled with unforgettable characters. The main character (Dean) is undoubtedly 1 of the best characters in American literature. Think of Kramer from Seinfeld on speed and you're halfway to understanding Dean. Dean is part con man, part philosopher, part W.C. Fields, and part Don Juan. Dean takes over every situation not by saying or doing anything but just by being there. There are innumerable road trips blasting across the Nebraska plain, across California mountain passes, and through the Mexican jungle. Under the surface there are some pretty serious things going on (drug and alcohol abuse, theft, casual sex, and irresponsible parenting), but most of this is brushed aside as these aren't really adults we're dealing with. These are aimless kids out for (relatively) harmless kicks in post-WWII America. I hope you dig this book as much as I did.

Rating:
Summary: Please read this. Buy it. Buy a copy for everyone you know!
Review: The discovery of 'On The Road' has (excuse the cliché) changed my life irreversibly. I found it to be the most riveting, energetic, powerful and inspirational work I have ever had the fortune to read. My poor friends, and just about anyone else who has cared to listen, have had to endure my crazed ramblings of passion and attempts to describe the sheer genius and delightful brilliance of Kerouac and his work. I cannot begin to describe how much this book has affected my entire perception of the World and everything within it. Kerouac feeds the itch within anyone who has a rambling soul, leaving the reader craving for their dreams, ultimately, anyone who gets this, anyone who truly appreciates it, I am confident will never be quite the same. Every scene, every pure, brilliant landscape, every character is crafted with such skill and subtle, tactical brilliance; you fall in love with each one. Sparkling, pulsing dialogue, evocative simple depiction, passion, craving; this book is so powerful; combining enigmatic and isolated reflection with irresistible freedom that reflects the ultimate lifestyle of anyone who just cannot stop moving. It is so modest and subtle...Kerouac is a literary God. Please read this. Buy it. Buy a copy for everyone you know! I can't imagine that I could ever have lived without knowing, without ever realising.... This book should be handed out in schools and workplaces and universities and streets all over the world. Please, just read it!!

So, in response to other reviewers, who I can almost believe have never felt the want of freedom, have never felt the exhilarating magic of the road: Can you not see the pure and simple LIFE of this story? I cannot believe anyone could dismiss this. I was devastated to reach the final page; it is so rare to find such a gift. So please, show me a more faultless achievement of a novel, for I would love to read it. But I believe you'll have difficulties- this is as close to perfection as it gets.

And to those who have the soul and the insight into the heart of a real angel of a man, to share in my breathless admiration, there is a poem by William Burroughs that may interest you:

Remembering Jack Kerouac

Writers are, in a way, very powerful indeed. They write the script for the reality film. Kerouac opened a million coffee bars and sold a million pairs of Levis to both sexes. Woodstock rises from his pages. Now if writers could get together into a real tight union, we'd have the world right by the words. We could write our own universes, and they would all be as real as a coffee bar or a pair of Levis, or a prom in the Jazz Age. Writers could take over the reality studio. So they must not be allowed to find out that they can make it happen. Keroac understood this long before I did. Life is a dream, he said.

Rating:
Summary: Great!
Review: On The Road is simply one of the best books I've ever read. That's not saying much since I haven't read very many books, but even if I had On The Road would probably still be one of my top ten favorite novels. The way it's written is unlike anything else. It seems as if you're diving head first into the narrator's mind and body. You feel what it's like to be Sal Paradise. When Sal was feeling edgey so was I. When Sal was thinking about Dean his best friend and hero of On The Road I would be as well. Dean Moriarty is the kind of fictional character that you like, but you don't necessarily know why. He steals cars for fun, he never makes any real commitments to the women he sees. He does all of these irritating things, but you never get tired of him. I guess that's because the outlook that he has on life is so inspiring and moving it's hard not to feel some kind of gratitude towards him. "He was simply a youth tremendously excited with life and though he was a con-man, he was only conning because he wanted so much to live and to get involved with people who would otherwise pay no attention to him." Sal learns from Dean. Both of them hitchhike across America in pursuit of their existence and a happier way of living. They try to think of goals and new possibilities. Sadly these goals and possiblities rarely ever come true. The last few pages of On The Road are sad, but not untrue to the characters in anyway. It left me with a certain kind of hope that stayed with me days after finishing it. I know I will read On The Road again some day because it's impossible to get every detail reading it one time through. There are so many characters and events that take place within each page it's hard to keep up,but then again the style of writing that Kerouac uses never causes any dull moments. It's a book that will always have it's emotional impact for endless years to come.

Rating:
Summary: On the Road
Review: Similar to Bill Bryson's "A Walk in the Woods" and Jon Krakauer's "Into the Wild," "On the Road" was the perfect sequel. The book is hardly a story but a group of stories that Sal and his friends encounter along the way. The book is full of very strange and some odd behaviors that Sal and his friends encounter and perform. The book's fast pace and great humor will grab you from the start and lead you right to the finish leaving a funny smile on your face... The characters in the book are so well built that you feel as if you've known them all your life. Although most of them are slobs and more or less a bunch of "bums" with nothing better to do, you feel a connection with them that sets the rhythm of this book. The character's disgusting acts and lives set a disturbing yet comical end to the story. Sal talks of his best friend Dean: "His specialty was stealing cars, gunning for girls coming out of high school in the afternoon, driving them out to the mountains, making them, and coming back to sleep in any available hotel bathtub in town." The characters have similar lives that lead nowhere but to the next town. At one scene, early in the book, you think Sal has finally found his place in life with a girl he cares about and his road trips are over, but you turn the page and he's already gone to a new town. The strongest part of the book was it's ability for you to see America like you've never seen it before. Instead of seeing America through an everyday working man's perception like you and I know, you see it through the eyes of a bunch of unemployed youthfully energized male guys who aren't entirely sure of their place in life yet. This is America as it was in the fifties with hitchhiking still legal in a time of love and when drugs looked glamorous. Nothing can cut his adventures short, not even the law. At one scene they are stopped by a suspicious cop, but due to Dean's amusing charm the cop lets them go. "On the Road" is a book of great adventures that gives you the chance to feel young again and want to experience such adventures. "On the Road" is an adventurous book full of amusement. If you're looking for something new and exciting, you've found it!