Rating: 
Summary: Amazing!
Review: Someone else reviewed this book and said it is better than 'On the Road'. I completey agree. I would like to add that if you are new to Kerouac, this book is not the one to begin with. I think the only way to really get it is to read other books by him, namely, 'On the Road'. Jack Kerouac is an amazing writer, and this book is just that, AMAZING. His free spirited character from 'OTR' is deconstructed to a point that is real and in your face. This book is dark but it opens the readers eyes to what the real Jack Kerouac was like.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the best descriptions of the horrors of alcoholism.
Review: The opening pages show Kerouac's true gift as a writer. The first 2 chapters are marked by fluent and haunting prose that describes the hopelessness and suffering of alcoholism. As others have remarked, the book is flawed, but a must for anyone who is interested in the Kerouac canon.
Rating:
Summary: grim delirium
Review: This book drew me into the world of Kerouac and didn't let go until the final page. sitting in a chair reading this truly grim realistic tale in a chair not unlike the chair he would drain bottles of wine in, i felt every experiance. The book takes you on a trip through delirous madness and intense paranoia that spreads from the page into your chest. and by the time the climax hit its fever pitch and denoument i was left catching my breath.
Rating:
Summary: Depressing, yet great
Review: This book is very intriguing. Not only is it wonderfully written like his other work, but it brings out the demons that haunted him in his later days. It brings out some familiar characters from his past work, and shows how they've all changed, or grown out of their wilder youth. It is a deeply depressing book, because you want good things to happen to Jack, but he can't quite get it together and be happy. His description of his depression and alcoholism is haunting. Also the fact that he resents the "beat" label that is put upon him by society seems to torment him to the point to where he feels public shame. I would recommend this book to anyone, but if you haven't read any of his earlier work, you should read that first to get an understanding of it all. This is a great book and worth every bit of the praise that it has gotten and ever will get.
Rating:
Summary: I'll drink to that
Review: This book was written after all the damage had been done, and you can feel it as you read the book. Jack tried for years to get his writing out and by the time it was published he was well on to the state of mind you read in "BIG SUR".
I really think this is a brilliant book, you get to experience a bit of the torment he put himself through to get away from the critics that called his work childish. You even get to hear about Neal Cassady ten years after "ON THE ROAD".
A book well worth reading, slowly, Jack had a tendency to run paragraphs and sentences together, a technique he uses quite a bit in this book.
Rating:
Summary: Real Kerouac
Review: This is definitely a great book for anyone who enjoys reading Jack Kerouac's work. It was the second book of his I read, and I recommend reading another Kerouac title before reading this book, in order to get used to his style. The book is a little depressing at times, but at least you know all along that he wrote the book (got through the trouble). It is definitely deeper spiritually than ON THE ROAD, and an honest telling of a man's most difficult times.
Rating:
Summary: Lust for life
Review: This is my favourite Kerouac book. It's written with a real love for life and America's nature. Kerouac is a master in showing life is full of opportunities waiting for you, although the whole of society is created to teach a man not to see those opportunities. The end is surprisingly claustrophobic. Very, very good stuff.
Rating:
Summary: Kerouac's most honest and raw work
Review: This novel marked the close end to Kerouac. Kerouac was controlled by alcohol and depression. He hopes to find peace in a cabin in the Big Sur(Which I went to just a few weeks and is very beautiful). There he is just tortured by his own thoughts from too much alcohol. In this time Kerouac looks back at his outgoing "On The Road" backpacking days and begs for mercy in his own misery. The main reason I love this novel besides Kerouac's honesty and splendid writing is the message it has on contemporey america. 10 years after "On The Road" and as the 60's unfold so does the destruction of friendly america. Kerouac can barley hitchike because of america's new fear of the hitchiker being a criminal. This is a very symbolic point of how friendly america was and now how everyone lives in fear. We also are re-visited with Kerouac's "On the Road" hero "Dean Moritatey", Who is still wild and hyper but with a family. Kerouac slowly starts to crack for a short while in Big Sur and we see some of Kerouac's most haunting writing ever. This novel also includes a poem Kerouac wrote called "Sea" which translates the sound of the ocean into speaking english. It is tedious yet fascinating at the same time. "Big Sur" remains a potrait of a troubled writer who struggles with society and alcohol addiction. This book should be read by all, However it is not a good to start as an intro to Kerouac( Atleast read "On The Road" first). This may be Kerouac's best work since "On The Road".
Rating:
Summary: The Other Side of The Beats
Review: This was a very interesting read. Just as Kerouac wrote the book in a very short period time, I read the book in a very short period. One and a half days, for me, is a short time to read an entire novel. Interesting how Jack finds himself in the deepest stages of depression, but is still able to come back.
Rating:
Summary: Essential Kerouac
Review: Though not my absolute favorite Kerouac novel, I can honestly say once again that I loved every bit of it(if you want some of my overall favorite Kerouac work, check out On The Road or The Dharma Bums). It was, though, one of the quickest flowing books to read. Big Sur grabs you and drags you vigorously through the psychotic barriers of Kerouac's impending insanity, and will not let go until you have completed the extremely intense final chapters. Kerouac also included at the end of the book a poem entitled "Sea" that he wrote while observing the ocean at Big Sur.Read Big Sur. It is an amazing work of literature, and is guaranteed to catch hold of you from the very first page. And if you enjoy this, do not stop there. I recommend anything with Jack Kerouac's name on the cover. Take my word. Also recommended: The Losers' Club by Richard Perez
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