February: On The Road, Jack Kerouac.

[AnneYgerne]

I'm now 3/4 into my read. I've been struggling so far with all the different characters mentioned (Sal and Dean keep giving names and compare folks as if I was supposed to have met them and known them for aaaaages).
Also found it hard to really fancy the jazz club descriptions. I've actually been to sessions that were as described in the book, which helped, but well...

Still, and although there's not a plot as such (me thinks) I'm wondering how this is all gonna end. Dean makes me rather feel uncomfortable at the moment (Sal and him are driving a Cadillac). He really is crazy and self destructing himself and all who get too close to him. Surviving is quite an achievement... they'll never be the same, and that's great, but oh so frightening!

Ok, think I'll stop interwebbing and go back to reading

[blake]

Nice one Anne. I was hoping to read more about peoples perceptions of the book and what not.

I guess because I've been interested in The Beat Generation for so long a good few Kerouac books I'm so use to who's who and the real life names of the characters in the book as well. When you really get into Kerouac you do really feel you actually know the man and the people he writes about. All of his books are about a different side of his life and you really watch him grow and change though out them. But I can see how a newcomer could find it rather hard to keep up with all the different names.

Did anyone else but me pick up on the homoerotic overtones of the books? The nature of the real life Sal and Dean's realtionship (Jack Kerouac and Neal Cassady respectively) has been much speculated on if they were secret lovers, or if Jack harbored secret love for Neal. I prefer to think of them as just plationic best friends who truly loved and idealised each other myself, despite the fact both men are known to have had a good few homosexual experiences in their lives.

Really under-neath all the madness and debauchery On The Road is a quite sweet sentimental book about friendship. I like t lack of any moral judgment on Dean and others actions in the book. It's all about the real purity and beauty in places where you wouldn't expect to find it. Both in the book and in real life Dean/Neal did "bad" things but he is sort of redeemed by Kerouac's words

[AnneYgerne]

blake said:

Really under-neath all the madness and debauchery On The Road is a quite sweet sentimental book about friendship. I like t lack of any moral judgment on Dean and others actions in the book. It's all about the real purity and beauty in places where you wouldn't expect to find it. Both in the book and in real life Dean/Neal did "bad" things but he is sort of redeemed by Kerouac's words

I've finished the read.
Well, I'll react to that doing one of "those" metaphors. It's a bit like "Brainiacs: we do that dangerous stuff so you don't have to yourself" (or something like that).
Sal isn't judging Dean's behaviour, but he's not absolutely unaware of it. It's more like being and the top of a building, about to fall down, but still remain in control and know you can always and fairly easily step back and be safe again. Well, Sal is the guy standing there, and Dean is the void ahead. There was something thrilling about traveling alongside Dean, I enjoyed being in he's company, but only because I knew I could step back into safe ground almost whenever I wanted. (yeah, because of the way the book is written, I could really "be" Sal during the read). So, there is nothing to judge really, only admire and follow, although I guess that Sal describing what other people thought and said about Dean (=their judgments) is a way of judging as well, but using other people's opinion, like "I never said that, they did".
Dunno if anybody gets my point here

New thing for me that the book brought me:
Was the music description! And, well, even though I didn't quite "click" with it, it would seem it's gonna be beneficial at some point, since I've been told that I should develop more my inner sense of audition (imagine and remember sounds rather than "only" actually hear them).

Down part:
I wish there had been more landscapes descriptions, because I've never been to the US and I hardly know them. But I guess the book isn't about the places they were going to and seeing, but rather about the journey itself and how it affects those who travel, their relationships towards one another and the way they'll see things from that point...

[blake]

Thanks for the thoughts and contributions Anne.

[josemutiny]

they just mentioned Jacks Kerouac and On The Road.

The dad made another ass kicking joke.
The dad said "Your about to read a book that my foot wrote called, On The Road Into your ass"

Hahaha well it was better when they said it.

[blake]

It's now May

Probably best this gets unstickied now! haha.

[feathers]

On the Road was my very first Kerouac experience. While I enjoyed his writing style immensely, I found the book to be quite busy and sometimes it seemed to have plot ADD. I understand that that was sort of the point of writing it; the depiction of travels and movement and the constant flow of a mid-twentieth American society (hence the rhythm of the beat), but it was almost so terrifically exploratory that I felt dizzy and I was satisfied upon its end.

I immediately read The Dharma Bums after my summer affair with On the Road, and oh, I preferred it much more. Not that I am a religiously spiritual person at all, but it made me acknowledge the importance of peace and the beauty of purist Buddhism. Comfort in nature versus the hostility of citylife and conformity is a HUGE theme and I really enjoyed being able to read what was practically a journal account of the man's mountain experiences.

Plus it inspired me to delve into my poetry again. So thanks, Jack.

[josemutiny]

this book is mentioned as a clue in this new book I'm reading called "As Simple As Snow"

[THE BOSS]

THE BOSS empathises with Kerouac as evidenced in many of my songs about escape and longing for the road.