An important book, if not a great one
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On the Road is very much a book of its time. Based around Sal Paradise (who Kerouac has said is based on himself) and his travels back and forth across America (and eventually to Mexico), it's a relentless tale of the need for adventure when life seems stagnant and lonely. With no ties to keep him in any one place, Sal gets in a car with his friends whenever the desire takes him, searching for answers to life's big questions.
Filled with the jazz music of the late 40s, Jack Kerouac's book is like a stream of consciousness, and although this often makes the book hard to 'get into' (I don't think I managed more than 20 pages at a time due to the sometimes disjointed and sometimes repetitive writing style), it does leave you with a real yearning need to get out there and see the world. An important book, if not a great one.
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Okay, I get it..
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I understand how books like Kerouac's get elevated to cult status. Take Hunter Thompson's Fear and Loathing for example, that was much the same as Kerouac and other Beat writers. It was not very poetic or well written but it took you somewhere, to a time and state of mind that was free and different for a new generation. Fear and Loathing is decent, this however is not. Certainly not worth the hype, it's long and boring and as a book alone it has no literary merit. You may read about him, his life and the ephemera around the book - then you may appreciate this more, but standing alone this has to be one of the worst books ever slapped on the high pedestal.
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`A primer on how to be a narcissist.'
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Before I read `On The Road' I read a critical review by a blog psychiatrist who denounced the work as `a primer on how to be a narcissist.' This struck me as accurate, but not as a valid criticism. The self absorbed characters coping with alienation from of their environment and the consequent dissatisfaction with everything the world offers up is this books strength. The novel describes a particular generation from a particular place and it does so unfalteringly.
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Unforgettable!
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A fast paced tale on bumming around america in the 40's music drugs girls and parties. Unforgettable characters and deep conversations that really hit home. Buy this book if you love the thought of getting up and just experiencing whats out there. Highly recommend!
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Interesting Read
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This book is a classic so I picked it up. I wouldn't consider myself a HUGE reader but I found this book a bit tough going at first.
The style of writing is that of someone from the beat poet generation who's on the road and bit lost, meaning that there are long sentences which extend right down the page, almost following one train of thought as if it has been written in a complete rant, which is important because he might have forgotten what he was gonna say and then when you least expect it, he'll deviate!!
You get my meaning.
It's an interesting read and I enjoyed it. Not a light book (not a very one either) but certainly one that captures the spirit of freedom and living your life in those uni/post university days/daze.
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