Swedegeek’s Blog

Review

Rating: 7

This was another book I’ve been meaning to read for sometime, but never got around to it. Jack Keruoac’s book is supposed to be a key tome in the development of beat generation of the 50’s and 60’s. The library finally had it in on a day I was there and remembered to look for it.

While I can certainly appreciate its affect on history and very much enjoyed the amazing story telling, at times this read a little to much like an intellectual writing exercise put together just because Kerouac had some tales to share. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a rather exciting read. At times it felt like it was one long run on sentence that never stopped to let you take a breath. However, it’s mostly about some intellectual (at least most of them) do-nothings (all of them) that just traveled around the country hanging where ever they could scrounge up free room and board. I certainly feel like doing nothing at times, but to live like that all the time and very much at the expense of others, is a bit to far. It just made it a little difficult for me to relate to the characters in there, even thought they were indeed quite a bunch.

One should really read On The Road if they haven’t done so yet. Like I mentioned, it really cruises along. You certainly feel like you’re in the passenger seat as Dean Moriarty cruises down the highway at 80 mph on the way to New York, San Francisco, Denver, Mexico, Louisiana, etc. If anything, it’ll give you a little more perspective on how calm your life might really be in comparison.