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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If you’re a fan of Beat Generation literature, this one is not going to disappoint you. Jack Kerouac, one of the original voices of the movement, captures the spirit of those times in The Dharma Bums. The narration is so vivid, it takes you to countless places and landscapes, from North Carolina to California, and from Washington to Mexico.
Themes like nature, friendship, Buddhism, enlightenment, and sexual liberation are at the core of this book. There’s an inevitable sense of the era’s sexism that you can’t help but notice, but it’s all part of the authentic depiction of that time.
This book is definitely inspirational—I, for example, went on a week-long backpacking trip in the California wilderness after reading it. Kerouac’s writing is so vivid, you can practically see the colors, smell the aromas, and run on the same slopes as the characters. The Dharma Bums is part of a series of books Kerouac wrote during his exploratory adventures on the West Coast. It’s a fun, immersive read, perfect for spring or summer.
Themes like nature, friendship, Buddhism, enlightenment, and sexual liberation are at the core of this book. There’s an inevitable sense of the era’s sexism that you can’t help but notice, but it’s all part of the authentic depiction of that time.
This book is definitely inspirational—I, for example, went on a week-long backpacking trip in the California wilderness after reading it. Kerouac’s writing is so vivid, you can practically see the colors, smell the aromas, and run on the same slopes as the characters. The Dharma Bums is part of a series of books Kerouac wrote during his exploratory adventures on the West Coast. It’s a fun, immersive read, perfect for spring or summer.
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I like the way words flow in this book. I've just started reading beat-nik stuff so we'll see if I keep liking it. As a former trailworker and a lover of hiking up mountains, I liked this book well enough and I've taken to shouting out fun haikus with friends as I hike to. It was whimsical and the way the mind ounced everywhere was realistic.
A bit sexist, and the introduction to this book noted that which I liked. Not a fan of women, except his mom, evidently. Aw well. Still a short yet good read.
A bit sexist, and the introduction to this book noted that which I liked. Not a fan of women, except his mom, evidently. Aw well. Still a short yet good read.
i did NOT like on the road and i am knocking off a star because while i generally like the ideas in this … i hate that they’re coming from jack kerouac. the man knows how to frame things in such a way that i just .. i wish he wouldn’t
but also i read this in the mountains and along the sauk in skagit valley which was just the perfect setting
but also i read this in the mountains and along the sauk in skagit valley which was just the perfect setting
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
medium-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
emotional
inspiring
reflective
I read "On the Road" several years ago, and I really didn't like it. It just seemed to ramble on and on, unfocused and without any point. Maybe I was just too young to grok it, or maybe it was because I was reading it on the beach and there were good-looking women in bikinis nearby distracting me from really focusing on it (really, how does any book compete for a hot-blooded 20-something male's attention in that situation?).
Whatever the reason, I'm glad I gave Kerouac another chance. The Dharma Bums resonated deeply. Kerouac is ostensibly searching for wisdom through buddhism, wilderness, and meditative ecstasy, but really he's searching for freedom, casting away the expectations of family and society to pursue his own standard of living unfettered by convention or habit, just like Thoreau. The writing is obviously more improvisatory and wild than the transcendentalist's, more pagan orgy than devoted prayer, but the ecstatic wonder at one's aliveness and at the overwhelming beauty of being a part of the world is the same.
The book is also an ode to Kerouac's friend and guru, Japhy Ryder (Gary Snyder). Where Walden celebrates fierce independence, the Dharma Bums is more conflicted: Kerouac rejects the advice of family in one chapter and desperately seeks Japhy's approval in the next. But his love of Japhy is what gives the book it's wonderful humanity. Walden is the better book, yes, but I suspect that Kerouac's was the more fulfilling life.
Whatever the reason, I'm glad I gave Kerouac another chance. The Dharma Bums resonated deeply. Kerouac is ostensibly searching for wisdom through buddhism, wilderness, and meditative ecstasy, but really he's searching for freedom, casting away the expectations of family and society to pursue his own standard of living unfettered by convention or habit, just like Thoreau. The writing is obviously more improvisatory and wild than the transcendentalist's, more pagan orgy than devoted prayer, but the ecstatic wonder at one's aliveness and at the overwhelming beauty of being a part of the world is the same.
The book is also an ode to Kerouac's friend and guru, Japhy Ryder (Gary Snyder). Where Walden celebrates fierce independence, the Dharma Bums is more conflicted: Kerouac rejects the advice of family in one chapter and desperately seeks Japhy's approval in the next. But his love of Japhy is what gives the book it's wonderful humanity. Walden is the better book, yes, but I suspect that Kerouac's was the more fulfilling life.
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No