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3.28 AVERAGE
3.28 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is such a strange book, and I was assigned it for class so I finished it mostly out of an obligation. There are some parts that I found charming and interesting, but I was mostly just... concerned? Not appalled - I got the point - I just didn't think the point that was being made was really worth making. It feels like a very encompassed and interesting product of its time worth studying, but not worth praising.
I'm not going to go into depth on the events of this book because they're exceptionally convoluted: basically, Jack Kerouac gets tired of his urban, white, middle-class lifestyle and attempts to effectively redefine himself by seeking out his own twisted fantasy of being a low-class minority patriarchal figure while also being fully aware of his social empowerment due to his whiteness and his educated background. Looking at it from a modern lens, it is racist in the most brutally uneducated way. That's what I derived from this book the most: I cringed at a good chunk of the points where he gets most "within himself" on his pursuit of this goal, and also the fact that he's literally only able to do this whole thing because his rich Long Island aunt is constantly wiring him money for all of his various affairs. It's so blatantly not-charming that it made most of the events of the book feel like a slog.
He might have been a pretty shitty person, and that might have influenced my opinion - I'm not sure - but I did not like Jack Kerouac's book.
I'm not going to go into depth on the events of this book because they're exceptionally convoluted: basically, Jack Kerouac gets tired of his urban, white, middle-class lifestyle and attempts to effectively redefine himself by seeking out his own twisted fantasy of being a low-class minority patriarchal figure while also being fully aware of his social empowerment due to his whiteness and his educated background. Looking at it from a modern lens, it is racist in the most brutally uneducated way. That's what I derived from this book the most: I cringed at a good chunk of the points where he gets most "within himself" on his pursuit of this goal, and also the fact that he's literally only able to do this whole thing because his rich Long Island aunt is constantly wiring him money for all of his various affairs. It's so blatantly not-charming that it made most of the events of the book feel like a slog.
He might have been a pretty shitty person, and that might have influenced my opinion - I'm not sure - but I did not like Jack Kerouac's book.
adventurous
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Summary: This novel is considered by many to epitomize the beat generation. Sal Paradise shares his experiences traveling across the country over the course of several years with Dean Moriarty and other friends, and he gives a glimpse into the wild lives that they lived.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
reflective
slow-paced
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Problematic for a number of reasons--honest and honestly fucked up--really revelatory account of culture at the dawn of modern commercialism of art and culture--interested in connecting this book to its legacy in the basis of beat culture--want to know what he grew into--not a very compelling or likable cast of characters--
A great companion for a road trip, Kerouac crafts beautiful, poetic scenes from the American landscape and the people he encounters on his travels. Written at a time when the American Dream involved a Chevy, a long road and the freedom to explore, the book shares the same wonder and romanticism that was widely held. However, what took me so long to complete the book was the lack of plot, weak female characters and oozing sense of white (male) privilege. Those last two factors alone are what made me take away two stars. A great read if you're looking for something to casually slip in and out of.