You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.

On the Road (Penguin Classics) by Kerouac Jack (2002-12-31) Paperback by Jack Kerouac

3.28 AVERAGE

chey_walsh816's review against another edition

1.0
So in college my friends and I went to a house party where the man who owned the home was wearing a long, thick fur coat, and had a Diamond-encrusted jaguar statue in his kitchen. A party-goer looked like they stepped out of the 70s, others were more modern, others were more grunge and people were doing cocaine in the bathroom. I was there for like four hours and it only felt like 10 minutes.

That was how it felt to read On The Road.

Literally drugs and a dream.

wkfs's review against another edition

2.0
adventurous reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
bongcrosby's profile picture

bongcrosby's review against another edition

4.25
adventurous funny inspiring medium-paced

adam_mcphee's review against another edition

3.0
You just couldn't write a book like this today but only because I don't think you can get benzedrine anymore and because you're bound to get distracted by the Internet when typing and pounding off at the same time.
arianasophia's profile picture

arianasophia's review against another edition

3.75
really really into it at the beginning, and then it kind of lost me, around the time that dean moriarty falls out of the narrative a bit, but got straight back into it around part four. this feels very much like a relic of the past: this america does not exist, and it may never have. maybe that’s the whole point. i think im going to read a lot more of the beat generation from now on

kitduke's review against another edition

4.0
Maybe it’s because I was aware of Kerouac’s anxieties over influence beforehand but I could kind of tell at points. There were a few occasions where he tried a specific narrative voice and then never used it again. His idea of ‘spontaneous prose’ is very interesting and I only struggled with it because the frantic writing didn’t always allow for a lot of insight. But this is more an observation than a critique. I found that their final stretch, in Mexico, was by far the best part. Beautiful beautiful. And anytime Kerouac describes a jazz set.

Anytime I read this book at work it would get a lot of reception from middle aged/older men which was quite funny
jamie777's profile picture

jamie777's review against another edition

2.0
dark emotional hopeful slow-paced

sammygee's review against another edition

3.0
A true road trip novel that excels at capturing the imagery and loneliness of the road. For travelers or wannabe travelers this felt like vicariously experiencing the people and culture that define individual cities, states, and countries.

The story wanders quite a bit, and often something pretty significant in terms of plot happens in just one sentence and sometimes in the last sentence of a chapter so I'm sure I might've missed some key info as my mind wandered a bit listening to the audiobook. That being said though, I was satisfied enough with the story because I wanted it to mostly highlight the experience of the travelling and I didn't care so much about the characters or their actions. If I had I think I would've been disappointed seeing as how Dean Moriarty is not the most stand up man by any means.

Recommended for wandering souls ranging from teens to adults.

matt16055's review against another edition

3.75
challenging reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

jimotheechevrolet's review against another edition

3.5
adventurous challenging reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes