Jack Kerouac: Tristessa (1992, Penguin Books)
96 pages
English language
Published Sept. 16, 1992 by Penguin Books.
Tristessa is a novella by Beat Generation writer Jack Kerouac set in Mexico City. It is based on his relationship with a Mexican prostitute (the title character). The woman's real name was Esperanza ("hope" in Spanish); Kerouac changed her name to Tristessa ("tristeza" means sadness in Spanish and Portuguese).
Oh, you poetic misery, Tristessa, there is nothing worse than loving somebody that cannot be helped!
This was my first Kerouac book, and it felt a little weird... Some passages were beautiful but others were very confusing, due to the language, structure and crazyness of the characters themselves, I guess. It may require another read so I can fully appreciate it.
