Jack Kerouac - On The Road (1955) part. 2

Great things are not accomplished by those who yield to trends and fads and popular opinion.
Jack Kerouac

Wow, I find myself at a loss for words.

Part of me thinks that it's Kerouac's fault. Perhaps the way he wrote has made me self conscious of the style of my own writing. Or my attempt at writing. Anyway, I digress.

This book is nothing short of a masterpiece. You might disagree, but first you'd have to read the book and then look at every other person who had read it. It seems the verdict is unanimous. Jack Kerouac is a literary genius. His writing so effortless. Your eyes follow, your finger keeps turning the pages, your heart literally beats a bit faster. The precision of the detail, the captivating dialogue.

"On the Road", captures a desire that seems to run not only deep within us, but also counter to the messages that get blared at us from that 'talking-box' in our living rooms.

“The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes "Awww!” - Jack Kerouac.

It makes you want to get of that comfortable little nook where you always enjoy reading your books, pack your bag, step out onto the curb in front of your, and stick your thumb out. You don't want to just be part of the 'everybody goes "Awww!" You want to do it, live, breath, experience.

Kerouac's words aren't the only ones that have driven me to this conclusion, but I'll save them for another time. But seriously though, read it...

Jack Kerouac - On The Road (1955)

On Friday (15/10) I went and picked up some forms to finalize my employment at a Jewelery Retailer. Anyway, I arrived early and decided to head into Whitcoulls. I had recently been reconnected to my love for reading and had an urge to read more novels, as opposed to books that required a lot more resolve that tackled topics like sociology and psychology, etc.

So there I was, in a book store, hoping to find something that would rekindle my reading journey. I proceeded to look for a book, by an author, I had not heard of before, but had an interesting title and catchy back cover. I found myself milling over the section that was responsible for the Penguin Classics Collection. There were a heap of authors I had heard of and the titles failed to capture my imagination.

After some deliberation I picked up 'On the Road by Jack Kerouac'. The title got me it was obvious to an extent, road trips, hitch hiking, etc. Then I read the back cover and I was hooked. Of the few things I enjoy doing one of them is getting to know someones story.

The back cover read:

"Jack Kerouac's On the Road rocked the establishment with it's seminal, stream-of-consciousness portrayal of 1950s underground America. Amidst a whirlwind of sex, drugs and jazz, writer Sal Paradise and his hero 'the holy con-man with the shining mind', Dean Moriarty traverse the country in search of life and experience. Wild and exuberant, this life-changing novel defined the Beat generation and inspired countless others."

So my appetite for reading gets offered it's first break in close to 2 years now. There's a story to be found here, be it fiction, it still happens to offer the possibility of getting know a generation that existed a good 40 years before I was born.

I'm half way through it as I type this. I'll do another post when I finish it, with some more thoughts about the book in particular.