Discussions
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Allyson Shaw
There's a brilliant article in the Guardian on the 50 year anniversary of this book-- http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,2141624,00.html
posted 5 years ago.
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jerry-book
I think the most telling pararagraph in that article was:
When I was a teenager, though, On the Road was the bible for any aspiring bohemian, a book that was passed on from one generation to the next almost as a talismanic text. I was given a battered copy by an older friend and, even before I read it, knew that it carried within its pages some deep, abiding truth about youth, freedom and self-determination. On the Road instilled in me a belief that, in order to find oneself, one had to throw caution to the wind and travel long distances with no real goal and very little money.posted 4 years ago.
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gperlman
I'm sort of worthless to ask what books I like because I like practically everything I read. On the Road stands out to me for being one of the few that I absolutely did not like and would not recommend. There's roughly two paragraphs in the entire book that, for me, said something substantial and worth paying attention to. I would, however, just google the famous quotes from the book and not read it.
posted 5 years ago.
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Orange U
you better find the new version of the actual "roll" of the manuscript. apparently much better and quite different. a lot of this version was re-written by the editors. or does this "anniversary edition" have that? don't forget "the roads must roll" by rbt. heinlein.
posted 5 years ago.
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deloresdefacto
Try getting the newly published, unedited scroll version of the book. You get the feel of how Kerouac wanted that book to be read.
posted 5 years ago.
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Daniel C
I wish I would have read this the year it was published. I was not alive, but I constantly wonder what it would have been like to pick up a book by Kerouac during the time where writers took themselves too seriously.
posted 5 years ago.
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Willliam Elliott Hazelgrove
you would have not know what to make of it. it was the eisenhower era and the beats were a small subgroup and the sixties were still a good ten years away..no counterculture...i imagine people thought what *&^ but a few people saw the fissure in literature coming...away from mailer and steinbeck and hemingway...jack lived it though.
posted 4 years ago.
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There were several things going on at the time which might be hard to imagine these days. Print was still powerful and exciting. It was a very repressive time, something like the Bush years but with more believers and fewer outsiders. You could get arrested for being a little strange so it took more courage. Kerouac and Cassady were basically pre-beatnik hipsters. Not many people had heard about Buddhism. On The Road got me out of my grim New England mill town and into the world for an outside the book education , back when hitchhiking was easy and there was alway day work and a cheap room available.
posted 4 years ago.
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Dale M
If you've read it once and want to re-read it you don't really need to buy the Anniversay addition (unless you are buying it for part of a person library or something)
posted 5 years ago.
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Amanda
If you live in NYC you should check this out: http://shelfari.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/03/on-the-roadagai.html
posted 5 years ago.
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Peggy
In keeping with my new "Life is too short to read crap" mentality, this is the first book I slammed shut and gave up on. I forced myself to finish others and decided I will not do that any more, so this was my first. UGH! I gave it to halfway through, and shelved it.
posted 4 years ago.
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Lachie
No other book has had a greater influence on my life. It inspired me to travel and just absorb life rather than coast by.
posted 4 years ago.
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Lingerffxi
A time slice. Something that could never happen today. A portrait of people the way Kerouac saw them. Not an attempt to make likable characters to sell books. Uniquely captures the naivety of post war America. The Dharma bums is another attempt at the same story. Read together you almost get an idea what Kerouac was trying to say. I have read a lot of his work but I can't say I liked or disliked any of them. They are what you read. Its like air. You breath it because your alive. On the Road you read because your a reader.
posted 4 years ago.
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Renata Teixeira
I love your description of the book. I'm still reading it and it just feels like air. I love also the way it's revolutionary but without being pretentious or trying too hard. It just is.
posted 4 years ago.
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Renata Teixeira
I'm loving this book and I decided to use google maps to make a map of Jack's trip around America. If anyone is interested: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF&msa=0&msid=114708872695086317748.00045ef6acc2b9dfc4c86
posted 4 years ago.
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J. Buck E
OMG, that is soo awesome. I had thought of doing the same thing myself with GIS. You have done a wonderful job with much more detail than I would have put into it. I will share this with some of my friends that have read "On the Road"
posted 4 years ago.
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Renata Teixeira removed this reply 4 years ago
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jerry-book
Best paragraph in UK article:
When I was a teenager, though, On the Road was the bible for any aspiring bohemian, a book that was passed on from one generation to the next almost as a talismanic text. I was given a battered copy by an older friend and, even before I read it, knew that it carried within its pages some deep, abiding truth about youth, freedom and self-determination. On the Road instilled in me a belief that, in order to find oneself, one had to throw caution to the wind and travel long distances with no real goal and very little money.posted 4 years ago.
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Julia F
I'm not quite sure whether I can recommend this book or not. I really appreciated the story Kerouac wanted to tell but I didn't like his style of writing at all. Due to the fact that I read this book in german it would be possible that I just had a bad translating but I think the point is that his way of writing in regard to the narrative abilities did not satisfy me. It seems to me as if Kerouac was not able to decide how to tell the different “scenes“ of the travel so that he often begins with introducing a story as if something like this happens every day and than pushing it up to the best thing that ever happened in the next sentence and the other way round.
So all in all I'm not sure how to handle this book, but due to the fact that the style of writing made it impossible to me to enjoy the story and the way of telling at the same time I unfortunately tend to not recommending this book.posted 4 years ago.
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Tyler O
I would say that Kerouac's unique writing style, and approach of prose, would be difficult to accurately translate to another language. I would highly recommend the English edition.
posted 4 years ago.
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Luke M
Wikipedia quote, excuse my source: "He completed the first version of the novel during a three-week extended session of spontaneous confessional prose. Before beginning, Kerouac cut sheets of tracing paper [23] into long strips, wide enough for a type-writer, and taped them together into a 120-foot (37 m) long roll he then fed into the machine. This allowed him to type continuously without the interruption of reloading pages. The resulting manuscript contained no chapter or paragraph breaks and was much more explicit than what would eventually be printed."
I think rather thank focusing on the style he just tried to get it out of him, therefore coming up with no distinct style but an original work.posted 2 years ago.
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Sara G
People are always trying to categorize this novel into well written or not. I thought the book was so incredibly original. The words and expressions he uses. He really captures the essence of the characters and the times he knew so well. I really can't see a debate here because its an art form that is not up for comparison to anything else.
posted 3 years ago.
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Pawbones
I have recently started a group that plans to discuss this novel as well other prominent works of fiction:
Best English-Language Fiction of the Twentieth Century
A new group centered on a composite list of the best English-language fiction of the twentieth century. Please give it a look, join up and invite your friends!
http://www.shelfari.com/groups/46898/aboutposted 3 years ago.
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Raymond L
A great read for those with itchy feet. I first read it at the tender age of 18 and I have been reading it once a year for the 31 years. In that time I have lived in Ireland, UK, Lesotho, South Africa, Afghanistan and Nigeria. It always travels with me. I hope the movie makers will do it justice.
posted 2 years ago.
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Sujit
Through his flowing style of writing Jack Kerouac makes this a unique novel and a great read. I loved it and would recommend it to anyone who is ready to experience a totally different way of story telling - something immediate, from the heart and pouring our like blood from a wound.
posted 2 years ago.
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Kim K
I'm reading it right now and they keep talking about meeting 'Hassel' or seeing him in New York / Times Square. Who is that person?
posted 2 years ago.
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Ian Healey
This book has been added to the Shelfari shelf for 60's counter culture group "No Turn Left Unstoned". if you would like to join, please feel free. http://www.shelfari.com/groups/81144/about
posted 2 years ago.
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Ian Healey removed this reply 2 years ago
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Ian Healey
A new discussion topic for the new On the Road movie, due for release this year, has been created at 'No Turn Left Unstoned', a 60's counter-culture group here at Shelfari. Please feel free to come join in and check out the ever expanding shelves. http://www.shelfari.com/groups/81144/about
posted 2 years ago.
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doobiemcdonald
Although I did hang out with Jack Kerouac back in the day, I was not there for this exciting journey. Some folks are making up rumours on the internet that I am trying to be the next Jack Kerouac. This is not the case. Yes, I did write a bUk called 'Ye Ole Fiendly Towne and Other Whittier Zombie Haikus', but I did not do it to copy him or anyone else...BAY-beh! http://bit.ly/zombieamazon
posted 2 years ago.
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Will Evans
In his masterpiece, Jack Kerouac influences an entire generation (and many generations to come) to live as they please. Not to follow paths laid by anyone but themselves, and to do what makes them happy. Kerouac breaks rules in his style of writing. His flow, his train of logic, his painful attention to certain details and complete disregard for others, all contribute to a style of writing that can simply not be replicated. I know this work played a huge role in my life, and if you "get" Kerouac, it should play a huge role in yours as well. I highly recommend this.
posted 6 months ago.
