sammy981 Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 Not sure if I've posted this in the right forum?? But anyway I'm currently reading the 'original scroll' version of this book which means no paragraphs or chapters! It is making it very difficult to decide where to pause. I'm varying between loving some parts of it but for the most part just wanting to finish it as soon as possible! What are people's thoughts on this because so far I can't see why it's considered such a great book in the leagues of "The Catcher in the Rye" and "The Great Gatsby"???? Review: On The Road, the most famous of Jack Kerouac's works, is not only the soul of the Beat movement and literature, but one of the most important novels of the century. Like nearly all of Kerouac's writing, On The Road is thinly fictionalized autobiography, filled with a cast made of Kerouac's real life friends, lovers, and fellow travelers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spooncat Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 I also didnt get what all the fuss is about this book? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 I really enjoyed On the Road. I think it's one of those books where you need to be at a certain period of your life, or in a certain mindset, to fully enjoy it. I've read that a lot of people read it when they're young and absolutely love it, and then hate it upon re-reading it many years later. I would love to read the original scroll version - just waiting for it to come out in paperback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shelbel Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 (edited) I finished rereading On the Road a couple of weeks ago and had mixed feelings. I did enjoy the autobiographical nature of the book and found his depiction of the beat scene to be interesting. But overall, I found the book to be way too masculine and self-indulgent for my liking, and I strongly detested his negative attitude towards women. Edited July 31, 2008 by shelbel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freewheeling Andy Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 I really enjoyed On the Road. I think it's one of those books where you need to be at a certain period of your life, or in a certain mindset, to fully enjoy it. I've read that a lot of people read it when they're young and absolutely love it, and then hate it upon re-reading it many years later. I would love to read the original scroll version - just waiting for it to come out in paperback. I've said this elsewhere on this forum. When I was travelling around Europe on trains as a 20 year old it was a fantastic book, all about freedom and adventure, it was talking to me - or at least the fantasy person I wanted to be, the chilled out hippy type without anything to tie him down. The language and the subject were perfect for me. I went back to it a few years later and it was the most self-indulgent rubbish. It's definitely a book for a time and place in your life, for a particular mood and mentality. I think for most people it's a book to read as a rebellious (aspiringly intellectual) teenager. Most people I know have gone through a phase where it would have been right for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tiresias Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 Truman Capote said of On the Road: "That's not writing. It's typing." I agree completely. I found On the Road to be atrocious, slipshod, shabby and bombastic. The Beat Generation is interesting as a social and cultural movement, but their literary output is best overlooked. It is useful only in as much as it establishes that "First thought, best thought" is not a good guiding principle for poetry and literature after all. It is unfortunate that W. S. Burroughs is lumped with the beats, because he was only affiliated with them socially, not artistically. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted July 31, 2008 Share Posted July 31, 2008 (edited) I disagree. I find Beat literature fascinating and I think it's a very worthy and important addition to the canon of literature. Aren't Naked Lunch and Junky considered to be Beat literature? Edited August 1, 2008 by Kylie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freewheeling Andy Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 My favourite beat novel (and I've not read that many) is Richard Brautigan's Sombrero Fallout, which I utterly love. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tiresias Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 Aren't Naked Lunch and Junky considered to be Beat literature? Yes, they are. But Burroughs is really in a league of his own. Junky, in particular, goes completely against the grain of the Beat literary ethos: It is meticulous, observational, and detached Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val on the road Posted August 4, 2008 Share Posted August 4, 2008 I read On the road five months ago, and it changed me. It changed my opinion about life. It's not only a book, it's my bible. I love Kerouac, I love Ginsberg, I know, it's special and many people don't like this special mentality. but I like it, I love it. I loved to read Kerouac, I love the Beat Generation too. A good period I think... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dimitra Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 I just finished it today and I thought it was a very good read. To begin with:it is not an easy book. It's not the kind of book you can read all day long, it took me sometime. Probably because it's not a single journey, they're on-the-road again, off-the-road again and it goes all over. It is very well-written, the landscapes and the people are being presented vividly. I liked the honesty of the writer. I only have mixed feelings about Dean Moriarty's character, he's one of those people whose personality is too complex to fully understand. Overall, I think it's worth reading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poppyshake Posted August 16, 2009 Share Posted August 16, 2009 I wanted to like it but like you Sammy for the most part I just wanted to get through it. Some of it I enjoyed but I think you do need to be at a certain time in your life or in a certain mindset to get the most out of it .. you can't really pick it up in your coffee break. I did enjoy Russell Brands programme about it though very much. I keep it always on my bookshelf though .. hoping it might impress visitors It's got that kind of book kudos (I'm always hoping that no-one will ask me to give them a summary though). One day I will try again .. and probably love it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Mines Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 I'm currently reading the 'original scroll' version of this book I believe that's call masochism. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetiiPie85 Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 I bought this book for my OH for his christmas last year. I've still to read it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted August 17, 2009 Share Posted August 17, 2009 I believe that's call masochism. Aw, not if you love the book it's not! I have both versions. I was most excited when I finally got a copy of the original scroll version. I'm still debating whether I should re-read the regular version and then follow it up immediately with the original scroll version, or just read the original scroll version and hope that I can remember enough of the other version to notice the changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dimitra Posted August 18, 2009 Share Posted August 18, 2009 Does the original scroll have any changes or details missing from the original?If so, please let me know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kylie Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 The real names of the characters are used in the original scroll and I believe there are also scenes of an explicit nature that were originally deleted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atticjnr Posted August 19, 2009 Share Posted August 19, 2009 I read the original scroll a while ago and thought it was absolutely brilliant. Made me want to get off my arse and live my life while I am young and live for now! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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