Jack Kerouac's Avatar Angel: His Last Novel

by Chuck Rosenthal

In his latest novel, Chuck Rosenthal brings Jack Kerouac back from the dead, creating a posthumous novel in the voice of the legendary beat novelist. On the road again, Kerouac is back to deliver the message of death's existential loneliness, only made worse by what he finds on his return to compare it to. Rosenthal carries off the ambitious task, writing great lyrical passages, full of word play, neologism, compression, scatting, and riffs. He never forgets that Kerouac the free spirit was also Kerouac the writer.

150 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2001

About the author

Chuck Rosenthal, also known as C.P. Rosenthal, is an American novelist, short story writer, and memoirist whose work spans several decades and genres. Since the 1980s, he has authored a rich body of literary fiction, blending philosophical inquiry with imaginative storytelling. A longtime Professor of English at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, Rosenthal is also known for his collaborative work with his wife, the poet Gail Wronsky.
Rosenthal’s bibliography includes the acclaimed Loop Trilogy—Loop’s Progress, Experiments in Life and Deaf, and Loop’s End—as well as a wide range of other novels such as Elena of the Stars, inspired by his daughter Marlena Rosenthal, Jack Kerouac’s Avatar Angel: His Last Novel, and The Heart of Mars. His fiction often explores themes of identity, language, and transcendence, sometimes drawing on iconic literary or mythological figures, as seen in You Can Fly: A Sequel to the Peter Pan Tales and The Legend of La Diosa.
In nonfiction, Rosenthal's memoir Never Let Me Go reflects on personal and familial relationships, while West of Eden and Are We Not There Yet? chronicle life in Los Angeles and travels through South Asia, respectively. His literary voice is both cerebral and playful, deeply philosophical yet grounded in the human experience.
Chuck Rosenthal’s body of work also includes The Shortest Farewells Are the Best, a noir flash fiction collection co-authored with Wronsky, and the speculative Tomorrow You’ll Be One of Us: Sci Fi Poems, further demonstrating his versatility and genre-crossing instincts.
A vibrant voice in contemporary American literature, Rosenthal is as dedicated to teaching and literary exploration as he is to writing, continuing to shape readers and writers alike with his thoughtful, inventive prose.