On the road

Paperback, 310 pages

English language

Published Nov. 11, 1976 by Penguin Books.

ISBN:
9780140042597
OCLC Number:
21767041

View on OpenLibrary

3 stars (83 reviews)

Story of two restless young men in the late 1940s who cross and recross America, encountering parties, girls, drugs, loneliness and their own dreams along the way.

53 editions

Review of 'On the road' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I didn't hate it, but I didn't get it either. It's not a book you read for the plot, because there isn't really any to speak of. As I understand it, it's the thrill of the travel that's supposed to be the thing that gets you excited about this book, and while I enjoyed the descriptions of the continent from up close, overall, it didn't sound enjoyable or attractive to me at all. For example, descriptions of the pleasantness of being caked with dead bugs and covered in mosquito bites did not resonate with me at all.

My lack of enthusiasm might be explained by the fact that I haven't really heard of the "Beat Generation" before, and that while I enjoy visiting new and unfamiliar places, I do feel ready to go back home relatively quickly. In other words: your mileage may vary.

Review of 'On the road' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

This is a book about self-involved, selfish people who treat each other, and others, terribly. They don't so much as learn anything as they do simply get tired. I spent the entire book wondering how all the people they used, the people they stole from, the women they abandoned, were getting on; how they coped with the fallout from interacting with the main characters. I'd much rather read the dozens of books from their points of view.

Review of 'On the road' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

On the Road is a semi autobiographical novel about Jack Kerouac’s travels through America. Set in 1947 the novel documents the travels of Sal Paradise with his friend Dean on a quest of self-knowledge and life experiences. This novel is often considered as the definitive ideal of the Beat generation and living life postwar. The Beat movement is a cultural movement which rejected a normal life for a bohemian lifestyle; this movement inspired jazz, poetry and literature. The non-conformity and spontaneous creativity as well as experimentation with drugs, alternative sexualities and interest in Eastern religions lead to the hippy movement in the 1960’s even though there are many differences.

On the Road is a novel of friendship, not just between Sal and Dean but the people that come and go from your life. Hitchhiking through America gives an opportunity to see this quickly; Sal meets new people all the time …

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Subjects

  • Beat generation -- Fiction