tanvika 's review for:

Yksinäinen matkamies by Jack Kerouac

4.0

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Jack's book is a series of essays on his travels as a Beatnik across Mexico, America(New York, Frisco and other places), Paris, London, Morroco in the 1950s via roads, railroads, ships and the good old feet. The essays embody the tenets of the Beat generation. There is experimentation with drugs, sex, liquor, meditations in mountains, wild little haikus and plenty of odd jobs. The jobs are on the railroads and ships where there is little pay and a lot of work and frequent insults by the bosses showing capitalism is a system that survives on the exploiting people who are at the bottom(Indians doing the hard labour on fruit fields). So, there is a need for an alternative which Jack believes, is living as a hobo who rejects being a slave under capitalism. The hobo rejects a consumerist life, travels around and cultivates inner freedom by following tenets of Eastern religion like Buddhism. Hobos are diminishing fast in America and Europe given the increased police surveillance which doesn't let them travel, sleep and live on the roads( "The woods are full of wardens"). They are stigmatized as criminals. This alternative is not without its critique such as the sole focus on individual rebellion via changing the mind without a collective political fight against capitalism.
Jack sees Mexico as a land of gaiety as a stark contrast to the "civilised" America. He understands the world from an Indian perspective- " The earth is a indian thing".
The writing style is spontaneous prose that takes a while to understand and relish. I particularly enjoyed his focus on the sounds of objects and the quirky language used by the people. He keenly and goofily observes people and landscapes. His love for literature, paintings and food is delicious.