Chris reviewed Big Sur by Jack Kerouac
None
4 stars
I bought this at the Henry Miller Library in Big Sur. Where better? Currently reading it and feeling the nostalgia, although this was written towards the end of Kerouac's life when he was growing tired of his youthful fame and expected to perform like some kind of French Canadian seal for his readers. He was also drinking himself to death. So not as easy a read as the earlier books for this reason.
But early on I can see why Nick Mamatas' "Move Under Ground" takes Kerouac from Big Sur to battle the Cthulhu cycle monsters: Kerouac in "Big Sur" as good as paraphrases HP Lovecraft's "Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath."
It degenerates into hallucination at the end while becoming even more honest - and ends with the sounds of the sea at Big Sur, Kerouac having gone as far west as he can to not so much turn back …
I bought this at the Henry Miller Library in Big Sur. Where better? Currently reading it and feeling the nostalgia, although this was written towards the end of Kerouac's life when he was growing tired of his youthful fame and expected to perform like some kind of French Canadian seal for his readers. He was also drinking himself to death. So not as easy a read as the earlier books for this reason.
But early on I can see why Nick Mamatas' "Move Under Ground" takes Kerouac from Big Sur to battle the Cthulhu cycle monsters: Kerouac in "Big Sur" as good as paraphrases HP Lovecraft's "Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath."
It degenerates into hallucination at the end while becoming even more honest - and ends with the sounds of the sea at Big Sur, Kerouac having gone as far west as he can to not so much turn back at the sea as try to embrace it as well. The sea, he points out, never murdered anybody. The sea is what it is.
