On the Road in Overdue Podcast

Aug 31, 2015 David rated it liked it · review of another edition

I went in expecting not to like this. My cursory knowledge of the beat generation icons led me to believe they were all pretentious assholes, which definitely seems to be true. What I forgot is that a pretentious asshole can still write a decent book, and that a book doesn't have to be about good or likable people to be engrossing.

Kerouac paints a vivid picture of an America so far removed from me in time that it might as well be a different country. The book is somewhat worth reading for that I went in expecting not to like this. My cursory knowledge of the beat generation icons led me to believe they were all pretentious assholes, which definitely seems to be true. What I forgot is that a pretentious asshole can still write a decent book, and that a book doesn't have to be about good or likable people to be engrossing.

Kerouac paints a vivid picture of an America so far removed from me in time that it might as well be a different country. The book is somewhat worth reading for that alone. Beyond that, though, is a remarkably compelling first-person narrator. There's just something about the voice of it that draws you in. A madness, if you will. A lust for life, an insane hedonism, a massively conflated sense of self-importance.

Speaking of madness, Kerouac, apparently, wrote this on a single sheet of paper (he taped them together so he wouldn't have to stop typing) over three weeks while being kept up by coffee, cigarettes, and drugs. He cut and added things here and there after that, but essentially we're reading the result of a three-week outpouring of work based on the extensive notes he took during the journey. It shows. The writing is still rough. Sentences go on for too long and obviously should have been cut into two distinct sentences. Existential tangents blindside you constantly. A lack of focus permeates the whole thing. On the whole I don't mean any of it in a bad way, necessarily. It is, I think, an intrinsic part of the appeal. If this same book had been written in a more "put together" way, I would count it as an overall loss. It's raw, ephemeral, like it came from some otherworldly force instead of human hands. It definitely fits his character, at the very least.

Still, there are major problems. Mostly in pacing and any sort of consistent quality. The beginning and end of the book contains solid four star material, and there are similar gems lurking in the middle as well--but there are also some long bits that are two stars at best. I feel like 3/5 is a fair average of my experience, but it was by no means consistently that good the entire way through. Just keep that in mind. You will hit parts that drag and they drag hard. ...more

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Nov 09, 2020 Sarina M rated it liked it

I am glad I have finally read this and am also glad that it is over. I live around the corner from a bar in San Francisco where Kerouac wrote and hung out with a lot of the other influential Beat writers, so ever since I learned that I wanted to read something by him.

It was really interesting to get a view of mid 20th century America that is drastically different than the sterile repressed one depicted in early sitcoms / word of mouth from older people. "In my day people respected their elders I am glad I have finally read this and am also glad that it is over. I live around the corner from a bar in San Francisco where Kerouac wrote and hung out with a lot of the other influential Beat writers, so ever since I learned that I wanted to read something by him.

It was really interesting to get a view of mid 20th century America that is drastically different than the sterile repressed one depicted in early sitcoms / word of mouth from older people. "In my day people respected their elders and all working families lived well and had moral value!". This book indicates very well that this (and every) time period has its own counter culture and people have always tried to find ways to live free.

There were a few passages in this book that were amazingly beautiful, but the vast majority felt as if I was reading someone's journal (albeit someone's journal who has an exciting life), in that it is often just lists of activities and people. 'I went to this bar and saw blank and we drank and saw this beautiful women and I tried to mate with her, then we went to a party with blank, blank, and blank and I threw up on the couch, then we left and...'.

I have often previously said "I can deal with some sexism in old books, the author shouldn't be expected to live by current societal norms / values", but honestly I just don't enjoy reading sexist books and repetitive sexist comments make me irritated and take me out of the story. All the women in this book are objects for sex and resulting children are solely the woman's responsibility. If they complain/cry/yell about raising children alone while their husbands run around America getting high / drunk / cheating, then they are just annoying nags to be left behind/replaced. We are supposed to identify with Sal and Dean and how free they are and how much fun they have, but I kept thinking about the women who are so thrown aside and ignored to make this possible. Kerouac puts an emphasis on the drive to live in the moment, but the problem with living in the moment is that you have to use a lot of other people to keep yourself afloat and keep your momentum going.

Sal's journeys across the U.S. and in Mexico were somewhat interesting, but also were pretty repetitive. I kept thinking about how terrible he must smell. Unfortunately I didn't particularly like Sal, actively disliked Dean, and felt 'bla' about everyone else. But anyway, I think Kerouac was able to wonderfully convey what is it like to have a magnetic, charming, lively, and eccentric friend, and how easy it is to get swept up in their lives and follow them about.

I think this would be a fantastic book to be assigned to Highschool English Classes as I think the kids would love it and it would make them much more excited to be exposed to literature than fucking Great Expectations / The Great Gatsby (or any of the other books that no teenager can relate / enjoy that they assign in school). ...more

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