Reviews

Minor Characters: A Beat Memoir by Ann Douglas, Joyce Johnson

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larryebonilla's review against another edition

4.0

Joyce Johnson is AMAZING. I read this for my Literature of the Beat Generation class, and this book is a breath of fresh air. This is an intimate reflection by Johnson on her time with Kerouac—but most importantly—with life in the 1950s.

jcrowder's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective fast-paced

5.0

dianosaure's review against another edition

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emotional informative medium-paced

4.0

I'm not used to leave reviews, but I loved this book. It's said it's about Joyce Johnson's relationship with Jack Kerouac, but actually a big part of he book is about how it is to be a teenager in the 1950's and how challenging it is to be independent when you're a girl. And then, Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac burst in and they are such magnetic figures, they take a lot of place. You see how Joyce Glassman (her last name at that time) try to find a way to conceal her love for Kerouac as well as her need of being independant and living her own life, while her best friend Elise is ready to do almost anything for Ginsberg.
It's well written, in simple but yet very touching sentences. I really like the way she's just describing her life back then and how she felt without adding any judgement she has developped later on.
And also, when you like the Beat Generation, it's really fascinating to see how difficult it was for Kerouac to deal with celebrity.

sujuv's review against another edition

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4.0

Working my way (selectively) through the NYT list of 50 best memoirs of last 50 years. Very subjective list, obviously, but very happy to have been pointed towards Minor Characters, which I doubt I would have found on my own. Joyce Johnson has become an award-winning writer who has outlived her Beat cohorts by a mile, but during the 50s she was an aspiring writer who was involved with Jack Kerouac for over a year, during the time when he became famous. She manages to touch on what a male world it was without ever making herself seem small and without ever making the men around her out to be monsters. It's quite an accomplishment as well as being a fascinating read that immerses the reader in the time and the place. And if you're interested: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/06/26/books/best-memoirs.html

xanthea's review against another edition

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5.0

my psych gave this to me to read when i was 22 and broken-hearted over some abusive, alcoholic musician. 5.5 years later and i finally picked it up and was ready to read past page 32.

this book is everything. why am i crying.

nerdyher's review against another edition

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emotional informative slow-paced

3.0

Honestly, I find it hard to invest myself in the stories about and artwork of these tortured souls— their lives and ideologies and choices differ greatly from mine in a way where I pity them and love them as fellow human beings, but I am put off by what they find electrifying and worth chasing, by the acts that make them pillars of the ultimate beatnik individual.

But when I take a step away from myself, I feel Joyce Johnson’s words wrap around me. Suddenly I’m a minor character. Suddenly I’m in love with Jack Kerouac. Suddenly the ending comes and I’m telling myself not to cry.

A good book is well written and makes you feel things. Even if you are reluctant to read it and it bores you in the first half. Even if it leaves you feeling empty but filled, strangely centered but scattered at the end. This is far from a favorite of mine, but Minor Characters by Joyce Johnson is a good book, and definitely worth a read for a glimpse into another life and era.