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The Subterraneans and Pic
ISBN 10: 0141184892
The novels The Subterraneans and Pic collected in one volume.
The novels The Subterraneans and Pic collected in one volume.
163 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1981
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About the author
Jack Kerouac
362 books11.6k followersJean-Louis Lebris de Kérouac, known as Jack Kerouac, was an American novelist and poet who, alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, was a pioneer of the Beat Generation.
Of French-Canadian ancestry, Kerouac was raised in a French-speaking home in Lowell, Massachusetts. He "learned English at age six and spoke with a marked accent into his late teens." During World War II, he served in the United States Merchant Marine; he completed his first novel at the time, which was published more than 40 years after his death. His first published book was The Town and the City (1950), and he achieved widespread fame and notoriety with his second, On the Road, in 1957. It made him a beat icon, and he went on to publish 12 more novels and numerous poetry volumes.
Kerouac is recognized for his style of stream of consciousness spontaneous prose. Thematically, his work covers topics such as his Catholic spirituality, jazz, travel, promiscuity, life in New York City, Buddhism, drugs, and poverty. He became an underground celebrity and, with other Beats, a progenitor of the hippie movement, although he remained antagonistic toward some of its politically radical elements. He has a lasting legacy, greatly influencing many of the cultural icons of the 1960s, including Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Jerry Garcia and The Doors.
In 1969, at the age of 47, Kerouac died from an abdominal hemorrhage caused by a lifetime of heavy drinking. Since then, his literary prestige has grown, and several previously unseen works have been published.
Of French-Canadian ancestry, Kerouac was raised in a French-speaking home in Lowell, Massachusetts. He "learned English at age six and spoke with a marked accent into his late teens." During World War II, he served in the United States Merchant Marine; he completed his first novel at the time, which was published more than 40 years after his death. His first published book was The Town and the City (1950), and he achieved widespread fame and notoriety with his second, On the Road, in 1957. It made him a beat icon, and he went on to publish 12 more novels and numerous poetry volumes.
Kerouac is recognized for his style of stream of consciousness spontaneous prose. Thematically, his work covers topics such as his Catholic spirituality, jazz, travel, promiscuity, life in New York City, Buddhism, drugs, and poverty. He became an underground celebrity and, with other Beats, a progenitor of the hippie movement, although he remained antagonistic toward some of its politically radical elements. He has a lasting legacy, greatly influencing many of the cultural icons of the 1960s, including Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Jerry Garcia and The Doors.
In 1969, at the age of 47, Kerouac died from an abdominal hemorrhage caused by a lifetime of heavy drinking. Since then, his literary prestige has grown, and several previously unseen works have been published.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 22, 2018
The Subterraneans was actually the subject of one of my University courses a decade ago, which is also why I own a copy of it. It's an immensely impressive and interesting novella on an academic level, applying a self-developed method of "Spontaneous Prose" that has Kerouac drawing from a free-flowing, subconscious-tapping state of mind - or, to put it into blunter terms, something he wrote down in a heartbroken, possibly chemically-induced three-day writing bender. I still have an essay lying around that I had to write discussing the application of his Essentials of Spontaneous Prose, one that incidentally makes decade-ago-me sound an awful lot more learned and refined than contemporary me – but I digress.
So, a decade on I find myself re-reading this voluntarily; this time unencumbered by academic necessities. And sure, it’s still a deeply fascinating, yet challenging read. The subject matter of the novella is familiar enough for anyone who's had to personally experience The Rise And Fall Of A Love Affair (In Three Acts), although the freely flowing style results in some very frank, open, conflicted and complex emotions that are very familiar in terms of jealousy and broken-heart-logic, but are seldom written down in the desperate, chaotic, irrational style in which these are usually experienced. Score one for Jack's experimental technique.
This novella could see you get stuck at certain sections for days on end, yet once you get into the rhythm of his endless run-on sentences, diversions, and the wholesale milking of thoughts and anecdotes to the point of exhaustion, The Subterraneans can suddenly transcend from the murk, the rhythmic reading of the text suddenly feeling as natural as riding a bike. (Well, a wobbly unicycle maybe. With a flat tire. And one of the pedals broken. But still.)
The second short story in this collection, Pic, has a bit of a Mark Twain groove going on, regaling the tale of a nine-year-old African-American boy about to be supplanted from the deep south to first New York and then California. It has a surprisingly lightweight, innocent feel-good vibe juxtaposed to the harsh reality of Jim Crow, but it does end quite suddenly - you feel that in-between the penultimate and the final chapter at least a hundred pages of Pic's adventures on his hitchhiking-trip are missing, as 2500 miles of adventuring is basically wrapped up in only a few lines of deus ex machina magic. Not sure if Kerouac wanted to make some sort of point there or if Pic was merely a project deemed too ambitious and was prematurely abandoned, but there is a whiff of wasted opportunity there.
So, a decade on I find myself re-reading this voluntarily; this time unencumbered by academic necessities. And sure, it’s still a deeply fascinating, yet challenging read. The subject matter of the novella is familiar enough for anyone who's had to personally experience The Rise And Fall Of A Love Affair (In Three Acts), although the freely flowing style results in some very frank, open, conflicted and complex emotions that are very familiar in terms of jealousy and broken-heart-logic, but are seldom written down in the desperate, chaotic, irrational style in which these are usually experienced. Score one for Jack's experimental technique.
This novella could see you get stuck at certain sections for days on end, yet once you get into the rhythm of his endless run-on sentences, diversions, and the wholesale milking of thoughts and anecdotes to the point of exhaustion, The Subterraneans can suddenly transcend from the murk, the rhythmic reading of the text suddenly feeling as natural as riding a bike. (Well, a wobbly unicycle maybe. With a flat tire. And one of the pedals broken. But still.)
The second short story in this collection, Pic, has a bit of a Mark Twain groove going on, regaling the tale of a nine-year-old African-American boy about to be supplanted from the deep south to first New York and then California. It has a surprisingly lightweight, innocent feel-good vibe juxtaposed to the harsh reality of Jim Crow, but it does end quite suddenly - you feel that in-between the penultimate and the final chapter at least a hundred pages of Pic's adventures on his hitchhiking-trip are missing, as 2500 miles of adventuring is basically wrapped up in only a few lines of deus ex machina magic. Not sure if Kerouac wanted to make some sort of point there or if Pic was merely a project deemed too ambitious and was prematurely abandoned, but there is a whiff of wasted opportunity there.
January 28, 2021
second book of 2021 - took me about a week to get through this. Found amongst a pile of unread at my family home on an extended stay due to lockdown. It was a gift/left behind from a painter friend that used to stay at our flat on Dorset Street in Dublin, University days (circa 2011). I decided to pick it up as it's been a long time since I've read any Kerouac and I was curious about how he would approach the subject of race within his affair with a woman of colour–knowing what he was like from other books.
Rambling but rewarding at parts, as always with Kerouac. Particularly the final pages and how he reveals his own failings/demons in juxtaposing his relationship with Mardou to that with his mother. Controversial at the time and rightly so–he feigns proto-wokeness and understanding for Mardou's disposition but his views are conflicted and ultimately selfish which is made clear throughout. Disappointing but not surprising from Kerouac, especially considering the times.
Definitely worth the read to throw light on those sentiments & for any fans looking for an expansion on the spontaneous-prose style first explored in On The Road. Fun to piece together the characters of Ginsberg, Burroughs and the other "subterraneans". Pic up next.
Rambling but rewarding at parts, as always with Kerouac. Particularly the final pages and how he reveals his own failings/demons in juxtaposing his relationship with Mardou to that with his mother. Controversial at the time and rightly so–he feigns proto-wokeness and understanding for Mardou's disposition but his views are conflicted and ultimately selfish which is made clear throughout. Disappointing but not surprising from Kerouac, especially considering the times.
Definitely worth the read to throw light on those sentiments & for any fans looking for an expansion on the spontaneous-prose style first explored in On The Road. Fun to piece together the characters of Ginsberg, Burroughs and the other "subterraneans". Pic up next.
July 9, 2023
Este volumen de Granada reúne dos obras muy diferentes de Kerouac, que pertenecen también a distintos momentos de su producción literaria, así que las comentaré por separado.
LOS SUBTERRÁNEOS: Publicada originalmente en 1958, esta obra es quizás el mejor exponente de la prosa espontánea de Kerouac. Escrita en tan solo 72 hs, narra la relación entre Leo Percepied y Mardou Fox (alter egos de Kerouac y la joven Alene Lee, que también formaba parte del grupo de intelectuales y artistas que confirmaron la Generación Beat). La narración es tan caótica y circular como la relación misma, y es también el punto de partida para retratar la escena beat de San Francisco en todas sus ambigüedades: la permanente estimulación artística que surgía del intercambio entre jóvenes prodigios, pero también la inestabilidad emocional producto de relaciones efímeras amparadas en una libertad sexual que rayaba lo abusivo, y el abuso de las drogas y sobre todo del alcohol que volvía a los individuos poco confiables. El retrato de Mardou me resultó conmovedor, pero expone también lo injusto del lugar que ocupaban las mujeres en estos círculos, donde en nombre de la liberación sexual podían ser pasadas de mano en mano sin que eso hiciera ruido. La escritura es fabulosa, y recuerda a la cadencia del bebop, la versión más improvisada y creativa del jazz.
PIC: Esta nouvelle fue lo último que escribió Kerouac y se publicó de forma póstuma. Más cerca de Huck Finn que de Leo Percepied, Pic es un niño negro que narra sus peripecias junto a su hermano mayor desde su Carolina del Norte natal hasta Nueva York y luego cruzando el país hacia California. Es una novela de iniciación con una voz narrativa muy lograda, ya que Pic desde su inocencia va exponiendo inadvertidamente la situación de la población negra en cada parte del país y lo difícil que les resulta abrirse camino. Mi parte favorita es la escena en que Pic acompaña a su hermano Slim a tocar en un club de jazz y va descubriendo el efecto que tiene la música en los espectadores. Toda la nouvelle es un soplo de aire fresco comparado con Los subterráneos, y me gustó cerrar la lectura con ella.
LOS SUBTERRÁNEOS: Publicada originalmente en 1958, esta obra es quizás el mejor exponente de la prosa espontánea de Kerouac. Escrita en tan solo 72 hs, narra la relación entre Leo Percepied y Mardou Fox (alter egos de Kerouac y la joven Alene Lee, que también formaba parte del grupo de intelectuales y artistas que confirmaron la Generación Beat). La narración es tan caótica y circular como la relación misma, y es también el punto de partida para retratar la escena beat de San Francisco en todas sus ambigüedades: la permanente estimulación artística que surgía del intercambio entre jóvenes prodigios, pero también la inestabilidad emocional producto de relaciones efímeras amparadas en una libertad sexual que rayaba lo abusivo, y el abuso de las drogas y sobre todo del alcohol que volvía a los individuos poco confiables. El retrato de Mardou me resultó conmovedor, pero expone también lo injusto del lugar que ocupaban las mujeres en estos círculos, donde en nombre de la liberación sexual podían ser pasadas de mano en mano sin que eso hiciera ruido. La escritura es fabulosa, y recuerda a la cadencia del bebop, la versión más improvisada y creativa del jazz.
PIC: Esta nouvelle fue lo último que escribió Kerouac y se publicó de forma póstuma. Más cerca de Huck Finn que de Leo Percepied, Pic es un niño negro que narra sus peripecias junto a su hermano mayor desde su Carolina del Norte natal hasta Nueva York y luego cruzando el país hacia California. Es una novela de iniciación con una voz narrativa muy lograda, ya que Pic desde su inocencia va exponiendo inadvertidamente la situación de la población negra en cada parte del país y lo difícil que les resulta abrirse camino. Mi parte favorita es la escena en que Pic acompaña a su hermano Slim a tocar en un club de jazz y va descubriendo el efecto que tiene la música en los espectadores. Toda la nouvelle es un soplo de aire fresco comparado con Los subterráneos, y me gustó cerrar la lectura con ella.
December 27, 2021
And I go home having lost her love
And wrote this book
comes to you for your gasoline boy, that’s some filling station you’ve got there”
P31 and I got the rhythms - or I stop struggling against the rhythms
“He’d listened tweaking his beard with a dream in his far-off eye to look attentive and loverman in the bleak eternity”
“Wide eyed hugging in heaven”
“Her father the founder of her flesh”
“We begin our romance on the deeper level of love and histories, of respect and shame - for the greatest key to courage is shame and the blur faces in the passing train see nothing out on the plain but figures of hoboes rolling out of sight -“
He loses me but he has sparkling moments of poetry
And wrote this book
comes to you for your gasoline boy, that’s some filling station you’ve got there”
P31 and I got the rhythms - or I stop struggling against the rhythms
“He’d listened tweaking his beard with a dream in his far-off eye to look attentive and loverman in the bleak eternity”
“Wide eyed hugging in heaven”
“Her father the founder of her flesh”
“We begin our romance on the deeper level of love and histories, of respect and shame - for the greatest key to courage is shame and the blur faces in the passing train see nothing out on the plain but figures of hoboes rolling out of sight -“
He loses me but he has sparkling moments of poetry
April 29, 2021
"Podziemni" są jak monumentalna jazzowa improwizacja. Zespół przestaje grać, a my nie potrafimy przywołać choćby fragmentu. W głowie mamy wrażenia ze słuchania, a nie samą kompozycję.
Fabuła wywietrzeje, ale klimat klubów muzycznych i ciepło nocnych spacerów pozostanie.
"Pic" z kolei, bardziej linearny, klasyczny, to opowieść o wolności (nawet jeśli to wolność ograniczona brakiem pieniędzy i dachu nad głową), piękna i smutna.
Warto.
Fabuła wywietrzeje, ale klimat klubów muzycznych i ciepło nocnych spacerów pozostanie.
"Pic" z kolei, bardziej linearny, klasyczny, to opowieść o wolności (nawet jeśli to wolność ograniczona brakiem pieniędzy i dachu nad głową), piękna i smutna.
Warto.
October 23, 2023
Jestem w barze z Jackiem, który popada w swe tumulcowe szaleństwo. Czasami go nie rozumiem, bo niczym bepop elektryzuje swymi słowami, jakby każde z nich żyło innym życiem. Trochę taki jazz, ale bardzo, bardzo zagmatwany w swej omotaności
December 11, 2017
Love affair recounted with some regret for one reason or another as a lot of people would...I would! Haha!
July 2, 2019
pic - 5*
November 4, 2024
podziemni - 9/10
pic - 5/10
pic - 5/10
December 22, 2015
This isn’t just one novel – it’s two, both penned by Jack Kerouac and featuring his typical idiosyncratic writing style. And yet, they’re both a little bit different from his other work in some ways, too. Pic, for example, has a lot of the same themes as On the Road, but it’s seen through the eyes of a ten-year-old boy from North Carolina. Meanwhile, the Subterraneans takes a look at love and life in a way that none of Kerouac’s other books have managed.
Overall, both of the short novels are essential reading for any serious Kerouac fan, and while they might not be the best place to start if you’re new to his work, you still can’t go wrong with them. The combination of the two makes for a gripping read, and my only gripe is that even with both novels in there, it still doesn’t feel long enough to satisfy you. It’s pretty damn impressive, really!
Overall, both of the short novels are essential reading for any serious Kerouac fan, and while they might not be the best place to start if you’re new to his work, you still can’t go wrong with them. The combination of the two makes for a gripping read, and my only gripe is that even with both novels in there, it still doesn’t feel long enough to satisfy you. It’s pretty damn impressive, really!
September 22, 2015
I was pleasantly surprised/impressed by Pic - narrated by a 9yr old boy. It reminded my of Steinbeck's stories in its earthiness and streetwise dialect. Essentially an on the road short story, as Pic and his brother head for California.
I gave up on Subterranean after a few pages as it seemed to be going nowhere.
I gave up on Subterranean after a few pages as it seemed to be going nowhere.
August 1, 2015
Both of these books are decent reads, but seriously nothing special. They're like those songs that don't make it onto the album, B-sides. I feel this was Kerouacs worst time for writing, although I bet most hipsters would disagree with me.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews