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harrietannreads's review against another edition
4.0
I was browsing a lovely second hand bookshop in Edinburgh (Armchair Books if you have the pleasure) and I came across this book. I haven't read Kerouac since my mid teens so it's been around 7 or 8 years since I last read something by him. I ummed and ahhed over buying it because I thought my Kerouac days are behind me and they were merely a product of my teenage angst but I'm so glad that I decided to just give it a go. Turns out I love Kerouac just as much at 23, if not more, than I did at 15/16.
Kerouac is sad and his books often reflect this sadness, particularly a sort of melancholia. However, what resonated with me most as a teen and clearly still resonates with me now is his ability to situate this sadness in his love of the minutae in the world and his ability to find beauty or awe in everything.
It's odd to me that this is one of Kerouac's less popular books because it has become my favourity. I stood boiling the kettle one morning annoyed about it being the morning before being filled with an immense joy at the thought of being able to step into Kerouac's Galloway, Massachussetts again, living among the Martin family and other townsfolk. It's rare that a book can take me so violently out of my morning grump and give me a sense of joy at the day to come but this book achieved it.
Jack has put a little bit of himself in all the characters even though he's supposed to be Peter. This is something I don't want to know the answer to. It could just be that Kerouac had all these siblings that behaved like this or it could be that these characters are designed to show the multifaceted nature of Kerouac's personality. I think a lot of the characterisation unearthed the darkness that lingers within us all.
All in all, I've left this review for a while which I try not to do but I've been trying to come up with something, anything, that does this book justice. However, all I find is that there are no words that can do this job. A combination of Kerouac's writing style and subject matter hits home so deeply. To a greater extent than most books, I'm aware that the high star rating I'm giving is very much to do with personal taste especially since I acknowledge that Kerouac is not to everyone's taste. His work is just something I connect with, just something that words what I see in the world perfectly and makes me feel understood. I think this is why I struggle to find the words for why this book is good, because it's just something I inately like and was bound to like from the get-go.
After this raving review, it's particularly important to note why 4 stars rather than 5 . That's simply because the book was repetitive at times. I was not surprised that Kerouac was trying to write the 'Great American Novel' because he did stretch it out a bit without that adding to the general vibe of the book.
Kerouac is sad and his books often reflect this sadness, particularly a sort of melancholia. However, what resonated with me most as a teen and clearly still resonates with me now is his ability to situate this sadness in his love of the minutae in the world and his ability to find beauty or awe in everything.
It's odd to me that this is one of Kerouac's less popular books because it has become my favourity. I stood boiling the kettle one morning annoyed about it being the morning before being filled with an immense joy at the thought of being able to step into Kerouac's Galloway, Massachussetts again, living among the Martin family and other townsfolk. It's rare that a book can take me so violently out of my morning grump and give me a sense of joy at the day to come but this book achieved it.
Jack has put a little bit of himself in all the characters even though he's supposed to be Peter. This is something I don't want to know the answer to. It could just be that Kerouac had all these siblings that behaved like this or it could be that these characters are designed to show the multifaceted nature of Kerouac's personality. I think a lot of the characterisation unearthed the darkness that lingers within us all.
All in all, I've left this review for a while which I try not to do but I've been trying to come up with something, anything, that does this book justice. However, all I find is that there are no words that can do this job. A combination of Kerouac's writing style and subject matter hits home so deeply. To a greater extent than most books, I'm aware that the high star rating I'm giving is very much to do with personal taste especially since I acknowledge that Kerouac is not to everyone's taste. His work is just something I connect with, just something that words what I see in the world perfectly and makes me feel understood. I think this is why I struggle to find the words for why this book is good, because it's just something I inately like and was bound to like from the get-go.
After this raving review, it's particularly important to note why 4 stars rather than 5 . That's simply because the book was repetitive at times. I was not surprised that Kerouac was trying to write the 'Great American Novel' because he did stretch it out a bit without that adding to the general vibe of the book.
laurenw22's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Homophobia, and Racism
witchboyofboston's review against another edition
4.0
A long read but an intriguing look into Kerouac's fictionalization of his life and the life of his family. I'm probably biased, but it reminds me of all the stories I heard about Lowell from my grandparents when they were younger and this really puts me there.
frmeden's review against another edition
4.0
tbh the high star rating is solely because of the inclusion of the lucien carr/kammerer "murder" plot. so thank you, kerouac.
mazza57's review against another edition
2.0
Some of this was good but i totally missed the "largeness" of it I missed how it was "of the time" or "Epic" by the end i was just thoroughly bored.
emma_ireland's review against another edition
4.0
If you've only read later Kerouac then, apart from the odd flashes, this is like reading a completely different writer, the style is so different. Which, right off the back of Doctor Sax, did not displease me.
dandreamelissa's review
5.0
One of my favourites of his. I fell in love with the Martin family, hand noticed the pieces of Jack he put into the characters as well as the similarities to things that had happened in his other works. While written more traditionally then his typical free verse style, it become and easy story to love, and it has Kerouac's brilliant insight and bursts of poetic musings.
claire_de_lune's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.25