If there was one book that could surmise a just account of the true bond of friendship and the eternal lust for the never ending journey – then this is that book.
To say that his book has opened my eyes, and my heart to appreciating the flaws and the endearments of friends, family and colleagues would be understating the sheer power this book has in making a person realise how confined they are within the boundaries of their own existence.
On The Road is a beautiful blend of fiction and true accounts of a journey taken by Jack Kerouac (self referenced in the book as Sal Paradise) and his life friend Dean Moriarty (Cassady) and their journey from the top of America to the end of America and back again.
It’s an insane, guilty, gluttonous, self-fulfilling, selfish and hedonistic journey about self-pleasure and at the same time a million other things, such as love, friendship, hatred, bigamy, racism, sex, drugs, music, slavery and more.
Kerouac has created something that is so simplistic to read – it grabs you because as you read, you are drawn into this world completely: you can breath the dirty air of New York’s traffic; you can feel the warm sand run through your fingers in Mexico; your hands bleed as you pick the cotton, trying to earn enough money to feed yourself and your wife.
it grabs you because as you read, you are drawn into this world completely
Everything is described in such intricate detail that for most writers, the very idea would be considered an arduous task and a turn off for readers – my god, I don’t know how he does it, it’s just – incredible. Every description, every word – you are never more than several words away from metaphoric comparisons, allegories of life and so on. Kerouac’s writing is beautiful because it is simple.
We follow Sal and Dean as they journey through life over a number of years. Through hell and high water, their friendship is pushed to the end of the world. The bond is great, yet it is human and we feel for both Sal and even Dean as he comes to terms with Sal’s self-hatred being directed towards Dean.
Sal is a romantic – romantic in the sense he wants to go on a crazy journey across America. He wants to meet the one person in the world; the one woman that would be the woman he will love forever, and be with for all eternity.
Dean like Sal has a lust for journeys, but he also has lust for life – particularly women. Dean cannot keep his pants on when it comes to women, nor do they stay away from him. He has the charm, the joy and motivation for life and everything that exists within it. He is looking for answers, but doesn’t know where he will find it and therefore continues a journey and makes decisions based on his instinct, his nature and not on logic.
We follow both their lives, around each other, and on their own. The book itself is written from Sal’s perspective as he writes an account of his journey with and without Dean, we meet so many characters, so many different people that it almost seems a journey into someone else’s life. Which is what Kerouac has done with this book, by merging fiction with his own experience he has created something very extraordinary and I cannot think of a book which has matched or can match the sheer magnitude of experiences that are traversed through.
Sal writes accounts of others as they have told him. It’s clever writing and it never distracts from the fact that this is a story you are reading, nor does it distract from perspective.
Dean cannot keep his pants on when it comes to women, nor do they stay away from him. He has the charm, the joy and motivation for life
As my geography of America is pretty terrible just as America’s is pretty poor about the rest of the world (I guess 1 continent is not as bad as an entire world eh?), it didn’t hurt the impact of the book. The basic geography I did have did assist in appreciating the journey undertaken. From the constant pitstop in Denver, to San Francisco and New York, to Mexico City and the Tropics – we meet a slew of characters that create and shape the lives of the two main characters over the years.
The expectation of this book was rather great for me. having read many reviews, having been a fan of many of the Beat Generation writers such as Ginsberg and Burroughs, what I got from Kerouac was something pure. Most of the writers at the time were under the influence of something – here drug taking is used as a luxury, it is never the focus. The pure energy and drive that the characters have, the charisma that Dean provides is the driving force for the journey and Sal’s romanticism and belief in Dean.
It some ways, Dean’s character is very much flawed – when it comes to taking hold of his own life, to come to terms with the realities of what he has made of it – he cannot handle the logistics of it. Dean therefore copes with his reality by existing in another,, crazed world within his head which is masked over the real world he lives in. Add to that his insane passion and love for discovery and understanding for the world bring him to a sad end.
At only 290 pages long, it isn’t a very long book – but the life and breadth of the journey is mesmerising and incredibly powerful with creativity and imagination. The ending is truly harsh, and almost heart wrenching. in conclusion. It’s a book that you don’t want to ending, it’s a journey you don’t want ending.
Verdict: The definitive road journey.