On The Road

Rating:
Summary: A Second Chance After 15 years
Review: When I was 26 years old I picked up On the Road and hated it. I don't remember a thing about it and I thought it was boring. Now 15 years later I'm rereading it and I think it is a must read for anyone who enjoys reading Faulkner or Carson McCullers. It's in their league. The book has simplicity, a true American voice and it's timeless. There is a freedom in his telling that excites me and that my being wants to cling to. To me the book presents a picture of an America that was - lives intersect at bus stations, crossroad bars, cotton fields and hitchiking. I love it!

Rating:
Summary: Slightly dated feel takes the shine off this classic.
Review: 'On the Road' has over the years become the definitive expression of disillusionment with society's expectectations. For those of us who at some point have struggled for direction or lost sight of our dreams it is likely to strike some chords.

The two main characters of the book, Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty, never truely win your heart in this book. Moriarty's exhuberance and desire to experience life to the full is tempered by his frustrating recklessness and somewhat fickle nature. Paradise, always eager to be infused by his companion's energy, tracks endlessly back and forth.

At the end of the book you may be left a little confused as to what, if anything, our two heroes(?) have learnt or gained on their spiritual journeys.

The book may feel a little dated with its 1950's American backdrop and did not have the atmosphere (the descriptions of the Jazz and Mambo music excepted) to rope me in. If you are a member of today's Generation X and are seeking a more modern perspective on discontentment and dropping out, perhaps Douglas Coupland may be more your style.

In conclusion, this book would be fully worth three and a half stars. However, in the absence of half stars, it deserves the fourth for the inspiration it has given to successive generations of authors.

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Summary: I survived 'On the Road'
Review: On the Road by Jack Kerouac is not a book to be read it is a book to be survived as most wild things are, and this is pretty wild. It is almost like a force of nature itself with all it's snazzy words that blow you away into one of two places. You either find yourself in a smoky coffeehouse of enlightenment or stuck in a whirlwind of confusion. I am a self-proclaimed bookworm and it is not often that I come across a book that I take a strong disliking to, but with this one I did. It is said that the book was mailed to the publisher on a single roll of paper with only one single-spaced paragraph, and it shows. The book rambles on seemingly endlessly, and if the story were being told by mouth the teller would have long since been dragged off in a straight jacket after having been pulled away from their triple latte double mocha surprise with extra sugar. I found that this book really tested my love of the written word. I might have found the book more enjoyable to read if Kerouac made an attempt to seem like he had taken a few minutes to think about what he was saying before typing at one hundred miles an hour. In other words, the book was just downright incoherent. The book tells of an era that I have a hard time grasping the concept of, but even with the frequent musings on life, people and anything else that happens to wander through Kerouac's mind, I still find that I don't feel myself understanding it any better. When I read a book, I expect to feel some sort of connection with the characters and places. With this book, the connection was obviously absent. I could never find it in my heart to give the characters that smidgen of sympathy that would have made them more real to me. Regardless of the fact that these characters are based on real living, breathing people, I find them quite dead despite the energy that Kerouac is trying to get across. I find that he falls hopelessly short. On the Road follows the adventures of Sal Paradise in his many excursions across America and into Mexico. He has many traveling partners, the most notable being Dean Moriarty. Most of the book is spent in telling how Sal hitch hikes his way between New York and California constantly picking up and dropping off countless major and minor characters, adding to the snarl of people caught in the pages. The remainder seems to be drunken prattle or the ravings of a caffeine driven mind. Cities are mostly recognized by their bars and a round of wondering if Dean's father may be found there. It is written as if spoken and so many unrelated subjects pop up during explanations and descriptions confusing those desperately trying to follow along. Kerouac spins a tale of journeys, discovery, religion and philosophy. There are so many elements rolled into the pages that it is near impossible to pick out each component separately. Lots of philosophizing takes place but it is so confusing to the point of rambling. The tone seems to cheapen the words, making them seem more like the musings of a drunk, than words worthy of Plato. Just the way they speak of serious things so casually, like taking on more wives or discussing God in a babble of words is less than awe-inspiring. Despite the fact that Kerouac is enthusiastic in his story telling, it seems that his energy is channeled in the wrong direction. He gets too caught up in his own storytelling and reminiscing, which can quickly lose a reader. From the man who inspired a movement, I find myself disappointed. I thought it would take something more deep to produce such a result. Kerouac may be the voice of an era, but he is sadly lost to me. I think that this book is only for certain readers, of which I am not one. I am not saying that the book is bad, you just have to approach it with the right mind set, and a little background knowledge wouldn't hurt. If you are interested in the Beat movement then you will probably enjoy the book much more than I did. If, however, your impression of the beat generation was a group of guys in black pants and striped long sleeve shirts with berets and little round sunglasses beating on bongo drums in a coffee house spouting "Cool daddio" and "you dig" then you might find yourself severely disillusioned. There is no middle ground with this book, you will either like it or not.

Rating:
Summary: Tisk, tisk, tisk....
Review: I am truly disappointed in this work. The book is a clumsy read at best. The first third of the book is especially gruelling and un-interesting. I can understand the "live for the moment" attitude and the need to experience life, but this is all really a tired act. Kerouac's characters do not grow from their experiences nor do they offer anything more than pseudo-intellectual insight into their world. It is even more painful that so many people term this "the greatest book I have ever read" or "the greatest novel of the 20th century". I would venture to say that not only is it neither, it is not even the best American novel of the 20th century. Steinbeck wrote with much more passion and color and Salinger captured the purity and innocence of youth more capably. I have given this book two stars, one for being definitive product of a misguided philosophy and one out of pity.

Rating:
Summary: Tremendous Season
Review: I read this book awe inspired and it changed my perspective and my live from the first sentance. Kerouac wrote a masterpiece with this and time will show that as more people are affected by it. The last few chapters are magical and the last page is perhaps the greatest piece of literature ever written. You should hear the CD box set, he reads this page aloud. I believe he realized what he wrote when he recorded that page. It's probably what caused him to drink himself to death. I imagine the pressure being unbearable thinking of that page every day of his life. Don't believe me? Go back and reread it yourself.

Rating:
Summary: Oh boyJack, I wish you had never broken your leg at Columbia
Review: What ever that famous passage is about (paraphrasing) "The only ones for me are the mad ones.......that go out in the night like a Roman Candle" A passage I know Jim Morrison loved and took to heart, well that type of thing in this book did me a lot of harm. But assuming that sometimes good, great literature should disturb you and yes possibly harm you I accept full responsibility for my reading endeavors. This is an American Classic, one that can and has changed lives although I get the feeling there are some who now view it as trite. This should be required reading for college freshman, not least of all for the references to and the influence on Kerouac's prose made by Jazz-the great American art form. A troubled man's best work. I liked Dharma Bums too.

Rating:
Summary: Do it now!
Review: If you do anything before you die, for God's sake go and buy this book.

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Summary: [e-mail]
Review: My journey through "On the Road" took place as I began a life in the "race". I wonder what Sal Paradise would think about my choice to live my life "status quo". Would he question my ability to discover life? It would be easy enough for a character like that to do, but I think he would be of the opinion that discovery could take place anywhere. For him it happened to be on the road, stowed away in a passer-bys truck, train or diner. These discoveries only took place because he took the time and effort to look and take notice. This book doesn't make me want to travel, but it does make me want to look and take notice.

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Summary: Some Of The Greatest Prose Of The Century
Review: This is truly a great book. One day, when we are all old and listening to whatever version of the radio is around in the mid-twenty-first century we will be listening to some "great books" program and this novel will be mentioned. Top one-hundred stuff. One of the signs of a truly great author is the influence he or she has had and continues to have and Kerouac really fits the bill for this, from his day to the present he has continued to be a significant influence on modern literature (I am thinking here of books like Geoffrey B. Cain's "The Wards of St. Dymphna"). This is a real third-eye opening book!

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Summary: The best intro to Kerouac, but not (quite) his best
Review: The unrealized true genius of Kerouac (and the rest of the Beat Generation) was in his rediscovery of an oral tradition. On the Road, like The Sun Also Rises, besides being a great book, is significant because in it Kerouac realizes his mature style. On the Road, unlike Kerouac's later works, is not quite "spontaneous prose," and is slightly more fictionalized (if only in Kerouac's adoption of an Italian personna). As a work that underwent some editing, On the Road does not have quite the transcendent moments of later works such as Big Sur or Desolation Angels, but it is far more consistent than either of the other two. Ultimately, though, Kerouac was as concerned with the telling as with the story, and the beauty of the language used. Neither Dean Moriarity nor Sal Paradise ever really come to any great realizations about themselves or others, and a cursory investigation of the lives of the Beats shows that most of them were as miserable as they were brilliant (especially Kerouac, who died an alcoholic living with his mother). There is, however, a beauty in both the story and the telling that make On the Road essential. Take the book, lock yourself in a room, and read it aloud, listening for the rhythms and sounds Jack uses (especially suggested for fans of Jazz, and with Kerouac's other works such as Tristessa). Trust me, you'll thank me for it.