Visions of Cody

Rating:
Summary: Kerouac's "Finnigan's Wake"
Review: This is what 'On The Road' should have been. The first 150 pages are enough to send you either insane or to heaven, and are more akin to a portrait than a narrative piece, painting a picture of Kerouac's relationship with Neal Cassady far superior to that shown in 'On The Road'. The description and emotion of the 1st 150 pages are vivid and some of the most impressive in 20th century literature - indeed it is one of the three contemporary masterpieces - along with Joyce's 'Finnigan's Wake' and W.S.Burroughs' 'Naked Lunch' - in fact Burroughs' himself highlighted the first 150 pages of 'Visions of Cody' as Kerouac's masterpiece (excuse me if I don't insert the exact quote but I don't have it to hand). The centre section of the work is a transcription of conversations between JK and NC as well as a few other prominent figures such as Ginsberg. This is quite interesting but can get quite labourious. After these he returns to the style of the first section. In finishing I would like to say that I recommend this to any Kerouac reader and, if possible, if there's no-one to think you're going insane, read it out loud - and in Kerouac's voice - there is a CD you can get from verve records to get the rhythm of Kerouac's speaking - these methods help in understanding the book, just like you should read 'Finnigan's Wake' in an Irish Accent