Mark’s review of On the Road > Likes and Comments
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Well, amazing review! I always love reading your reviews even if I don't read the book 😂😂 I know, weird...
I'm the same. Never took to it, just read because it's a "classic."
I read this when I was +-20 and I suppose that 's a perfect age to digest this and book.
I loved this book.. and I typically don't fall for things touted as 'classics.' lol. But it was fantastic..
It was interesting. I think this one had hipsters mentioned in it? I found that hilarious as I didn't realize the term was an old one.
On The Road den fånigaste skiten jag har läst!
What do you think about 'factotum' by charles bukowski? I had similar thoughts while reading it.
Sasha wrote: "What do you think about 'factotum' by charles bukowski? I had similar thoughts while reading it."
I've not read that one.
This seems so accurate but I feel like I *have* to finish. Thanks for the review!
"It's populated by vacuous largely despicable alcoholics with zero impulse control and an unshakeable belief that they are deeply profound observers of the human condition."
That sounds like an accurate description of the sixties.
Very well said. A friend of mine let me borrow this book in middle school and I think I gave it back to him partway through that same day. Just couldn't be fucked to read about a bunch of losers going on a road trip.
"The book garnered so much interest because it was said to capture the zeitgeist of the beat generation"
I came to this book very much because I am very interested in the counter cultures of different ages and this kind of like showed me that there were similar thoughts and beliefs long before I got involved with them. When I read it, I had been a goth, a hippy, a crusty and a kind of non conformist so it resonates at the time. However, when I read the book later in life, I didn't enjoy it so much. I think when I read it originally, I was looking at it with the mystique that I had at that particular time of reading of the figures of that particular time in history, people like Kerouac, Burroughs and Ginsberg etc. But, reading it later in life, I just didn't like it.
What I really take with me from the review (no not really, from the reading progress I guess) is that you know the lyrics to "Torch Song". :)
I dig this review. 😎 Couldn't agree more.
To echo another person's comment: Marillion, hell yeah. That really brought me back a few years. "I've got a strange fascination with a liquid fixation. Alcohol, thrill me now. It's getting late in the game to show any pride or shame. Burn a little brighter now."
Alright, alright: I'll read the book. Sheesh.
Couldn’t agree more. I wanted so badly to love this book as a teenager who thought they were immersed in their own early 2010s counterculture, idolizing those before me who went off the beaten path. Now in my late 20s, I feel like I can see the book (and my teenage hipsterdom) for what it was: totally empty, and worse, convinced that it was full.
While I don’t see it as the classic other people do, I liked the character-driven journal type feel of it. The lack of a plot did make it meander for long periods, but overall I liked it for the same reasons y’all disliked it. Go figure.
One thing I’ll say about it, I think it was much better as an audiobook than trying to read it. On the page he’s got these run-on paragraphs, like a single one could go over multiple pages, and that just breaks my reader-brain. But listening to it, it has a spoken-word poetry slam feel to it, a declamatory rhythm that’s compelling like music.
But that impression is basically all I remember from listening to it over a decade ago.
I agree. I've started it so many times, but it's so very very dull.
I loved this review. Especially loved this: "It's populated by vacuous largely despicable alcoholics with zero impulse control and an unshakeable belief that they are deeply profound observers of the human condition." Bingo.
Fantastic review. I decided to read On the Road because I remember reading The Dharma Bums in high school 20+ years ago and loving it. Kerouac's fluidity with words shines in On the Road, but that's about the only thing good in it. I truly disliked it and wished I'd never read it.
I don't think it's a bad book. It's just of it's time. A bit like 'The Dice Man'. They were great when I read them decades ago, but painful as re-reads.
On the Road has to be read as an answer to the conformity of the time. Like old revolutionaries after their rebellion has succeeded, Sal and Dean are due to fade away, but they were big when it mattered.
What a thoughtful review. I plucked this book off my shelf to read but now think I will wait until December (maybe that week between Christmas and New Years when I can’t even remember what day of the week it is because I’m in a food coma). I’m curious to check out his writing style and as a road tripper, the premise appealed to me. However, after reading your review and several other scathing ones, I don’t think I’m in the mood for this quite yet.
Thank you for this review; I won’t be in any hurry to read this book but may get to it someday. And, *milquetoast.
Barbara wrote: "Thank you for this review; I won’t be in any hurry to read this book but may get to it someday. And, *milquetoast."
Milk toast inspired the comic strip character Milquetoast, who in turn became enshrined in the language - but you can still appeal to the original inspiration: milk toast, which is more accessable.
This review critiques Kerouac's book as a product of its time, noting that while it captures the spirit of the Beat Generation, it feels outdated and unappealing today. The reviewer finds the story dull, filled with impulsive, unlikable characters who glorify reckless living. Despite these flaws, the book is praised for its unique writing style and vivid descriptions of America’s landscapes. However, the lack of plot and repetitive nature make it a tedious read.
I've tried to read this countless times and it's just too dull.
So true...and I also think perception changes with age. I remember finding this book fascinating when I was 16. I don't think I minded the flat structuring--probably didn't even notice. Then when I went back to it in my 30's I kept wondering what I had seen in it prior.
It's a shame that
Alcohol played such a large part of Jack's life . Ultimately it led to his death aged just 47. In its day this book was outrageous and rebellious. Read all his work with Jazz playing , because that's how he wrote it in his mind. You have to remember when it was written . The beats were the precursors to the Hippies , often intelligent but rebellious . After the huge huge fame this book made him , his descent into alcohol got much worse . He tried to dry out in a cabin in Big Sur , lent to him by Lawrence Ferlinghetti another poet and owner of City Lights book store . He wrote Big Sur there ,(my favourite book of his )again on one piece of continuous paper . It's about torment and the beauty of nature.
My favourite quote of his is "The Only Truth Is Music "
Only dude I know that was into this book is a real POS
Some people have said that Steinbeck's "Travels with Charlie " is better.
Wish I read this before I started. I’m halfway and will definitely finish but I was expecting …. More.
I think your just a little jealous that your youth was not as awesome as this!
Carly wrote: "I think your just a little jealous that your youth was not as awesome as this!"
Really really not.
Like most books , they are of their time. The beats were great thinkers and writers and led the way for the Hippies in the 60's .This book made Jack a huge star with much fame and all the trappings that go along with that. My favourite Jack Kerouac book is Big Sur which he wrote on a single scroll .His books are best read while listening to Jazz because often his prose matches the beat. A lifelong alcoholic he died at the age of 47.
What HE said! That was a crazy read, man.
Nailed what I've been trying to say about this book for years.
I'd also add that this book romanticises poverty by making it sound jaunty and carefree.
Your sentiments mirror mine pretty much exactly. I’m about 80% throughout it; I will finish it, but only because I’m stubborn. There are some books you are enjoying so much you don’t want them to end. Then there are those books you are so disenamored with you cannot wait for them to end. For me, this book falls into the latter category.
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Maryam
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Feb 13, 2019 08:48AM
Well, amazing review! I always love reading your reviews even if I don't read the book 😂😂 I know, weird...
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I'm the same. Never took to it, just read because it's a "classic."
I read this when I was +-20 and I suppose that 's a perfect age to digest this and book.
I loved this book.. and I typically don't fall for things touted as 'classics.' lol. But it was fantastic..
It was interesting. I think this one had hipsters mentioned in it? I found that hilarious as I didn't realize the term was an old one.
On The Road den fånigaste skiten jag har läst!
What do you think about 'factotum' by charles bukowski? I had similar thoughts while reading it.
Sasha wrote: "What do you think about 'factotum' by charles bukowski? I had similar thoughts while reading it."I've not read that one.
This seems so accurate but I feel like I *have* to finish. Thanks for the review!
"It's populated by vacuous largely despicable alcoholics with zero impulse control and an unshakeable belief that they are deeply profound observers of the human condition."That sounds like an accurate description of the sixties.
Very well said. A friend of mine let me borrow this book in middle school and I think I gave it back to him partway through that same day. Just couldn't be fucked to read about a bunch of losers going on a road trip.
"The book garnered so much interest because it was said to capture the zeitgeist of the beat generation"I came to this book very much because I am very interested in the counter cultures of different ages and this kind of like showed me that there were similar thoughts and beliefs long before I got involved with them. When I read it, I had been a goth, a hippy, a crusty and a kind of non conformist so it resonates at the time. However, when I read the book later in life, I didn't enjoy it so much. I think when I read it originally, I was looking at it with the mystique that I had at that particular time of reading of the figures of that particular time in history, people like Kerouac, Burroughs and Ginsberg etc. But, reading it later in life, I just didn't like it.
What I really take with me from the review (no not really, from the reading progress I guess) is that you know the lyrics to "Torch Song". :)
I dig this review. 😎 Couldn't agree more.
Yes I HATED this book! But the energy of the sentences propelled me to keep reading thinking sure something must happen!
To echo another person's comment: Marillion, hell yeah. That really brought me back a few years. "I've got a strange fascination with a liquid fixation. Alcohol, thrill me now. It's getting late in the game to show any pride or shame. Burn a little brighter now."
Alright, alright: I'll read the book. Sheesh.
Couldn’t agree more. I wanted so badly to love this book as a teenager who thought they were immersed in their own early 2010s counterculture, idolizing those before me who went off the beaten path. Now in my late 20s, I feel like I can see the book (and my teenage hipsterdom) for what it was: totally empty, and worse, convinced that it was full.
While I don’t see it as the classic other people do, I liked the character-driven journal type feel of it. The lack of a plot did make it meander for long periods, but overall I liked it for the same reasons y’all disliked it. Go figure.
One thing I’ll say about it, I think it was much better as an audiobook than trying to read it. On the page he’s got these run-on paragraphs, like a single one could go over multiple pages, and that just breaks my reader-brain. But listening to it, it has a spoken-word poetry slam feel to it, a declamatory rhythm that’s compelling like music. But that impression is basically all I remember from listening to it over a decade ago.
I agree. I've started it so many times, but it's so very very dull.
I loved this review. Especially loved this: "It's populated by vacuous largely despicable alcoholics with zero impulse control and an unshakeable belief that they are deeply profound observers of the human condition." Bingo.
Fantastic review. I decided to read On the Road because I remember reading The Dharma Bums in high school 20+ years ago and loving it. Kerouac's fluidity with words shines in On the Road, but that's about the only thing good in it. I truly disliked it and wished I'd never read it.
I don't think it's a bad book. It's just of it's time. A bit like 'The Dice Man'. They were great when I read them decades ago, but painful as re-reads.
On the Road has to be read as an answer to the conformity of the time. Like old revolutionaries after their rebellion has succeeded, Sal and Dean are due to fade away, but they were big when it mattered.
What a thoughtful review. I plucked this book off my shelf to read but now think I will wait until December (maybe that week between Christmas and New Years when I can’t even remember what day of the week it is because I’m in a food coma). I’m curious to check out his writing style and as a road tripper, the premise appealed to me. However, after reading your review and several other scathing ones, I don’t think I’m in the mood for this quite yet.
Thank you for this review; I won’t be in any hurry to read this book but may get to it someday. And, *milquetoast.
Barbara wrote: "Thank you for this review; I won’t be in any hurry to read this book but may get to it someday. And, *milquetoast."Milk toast inspired the comic strip character Milquetoast, who in turn became enshrined in the language - but you can still appeal to the original inspiration: milk toast, which is more accessable.
This review critiques Kerouac's book as a product of its time, noting that while it captures the spirit of the Beat Generation, it feels outdated and unappealing today. The reviewer finds the story dull, filled with impulsive, unlikable characters who glorify reckless living. Despite these flaws, the book is praised for its unique writing style and vivid descriptions of America’s landscapes. However, the lack of plot and repetitive nature make it a tedious read.
I've tried to read this countless times and it's just too dull.
So true...and I also think perception changes with age. I remember finding this book fascinating when I was 16. I don't think I minded the flat structuring--probably didn't even notice. Then when I went back to it in my 30's I kept wondering what I had seen in it prior.
It's a shame that Alcohol played such a large part of Jack's life . Ultimately it led to his death aged just 47. In its day this book was outrageous and rebellious. Read all his work with Jazz playing , because that's how he wrote it in his mind. You have to remember when it was written . The beats were the precursors to the Hippies , often intelligent but rebellious . After the huge huge fame this book made him , his descent into alcohol got much worse . He tried to dry out in a cabin in Big Sur , lent to him by Lawrence Ferlinghetti another poet and owner of City Lights book store . He wrote Big Sur there ,(my favourite book of his )again on one piece of continuous paper . It's about torment and the beauty of nature.
My favourite quote of his is "The Only Truth Is Music "
Only dude I know that was into this book is a real POS
Some people have said that Steinbeck's "Travels with Charlie " is better.
Wish I read this before I started. I’m halfway and will definitely finish but I was expecting …. More.
I think your just a little jealous that your youth was not as awesome as this!
Carly wrote: "I think your just a little jealous that your youth was not as awesome as this!"Really really not.
Like most books , they are of their time. The beats were great thinkers and writers and led the way for the Hippies in the 60's .This book made Jack a huge star with much fame and all the trappings that go along with that. My favourite Jack Kerouac book is Big Sur which he wrote on a single scroll .His books are best read while listening to Jazz because often his prose matches the beat. A lifelong alcoholic he died at the age of 47.
What HE said! That was a crazy read, man.
Nailed what I've been trying to say about this book for years.I'd also add that this book romanticises poverty by making it sound jaunty and carefree.
Your sentiments mirror mine pretty much exactly. I’m about 80% throughout it; I will finish it, but only because I’m stubborn. There are some books you are enjoying so much you don’t want them to end. Then there are those books you are so disenamored with you cannot wait for them to end. For me, this book falls into the latter category.
