On the Road question

If you read On The Road with the idea of looking at it as an educated piece of literature, you'd hate it and find it boring and repetitive. However, if you read the book as if someone is sitting next to you telling you their story, or if it is you telling your story, you'd love it. It's really a book for a person who can relate to the experiences and is not just cramped into a cookie cutter existence. The book was also written in a way that would inspire many to think about how their lives were compared to this man. I read the book very young (14 yrs) and I connected with it, without fully understanding it at the time. I just re read it maybe a month ago and realized everything I loved about the book is still relevant and exciting to me, because it's the way i've always been emotionally and mentally. It's a book of feeling, above literary devices and logic

The discussion of this book on this thread and "Jack Ass Kerouac" are great. A work of literature that people are still discussing so passionately after 60 years has to have something going for it. I think it's hard to imagine now how revolutionary Kerouac and the beats were in the Eisenhower white-shirt-and-tie 1950s. Even if you're not a fan, I highly recommend a visit to the Beat Museum if you're in San Francisco. They play a film clip there where Kerouac reads from his work while pianist Steve Allen plays jazz piano. It's a revelation to hear his words in jazz rhythms. On the other hand, you might agree with Truman Capote who said of Kerouac's work, "It's not writing, it's typewriting."

I was really disappointed with this book. I absolutely hate starting a book and not being able to finish it so I struggled on until the very end (it took awhile). I didn't like the characters much either, and the plot did not hold my attention. I found it all very boring.

Just because it's Kerouac's best known work does not mean it is his best. For a more mature, fully realized version of the writer Kerouac became, read The Dharma Bums If you don't enjoy either, than fare thee well to Kerouac.

I found myself apologizing to my book club, since On the Road was my pick. We were unanimous in our opinion of it. If we were 18 or 19 years old, perhaps we'd have felt differently. If we lived in the 50s or in a time that was straight-laced we might have felt differently, but as I believe Feliks said above, to us (my book club that is) On the Road was completely irrelevant. I found it, for the most part, almost like drivel. Boring and repetitive. Like going to a party where there's that one guy who just has to tell you about this most awesome time he had when he did this just so crazy thing with these just so awesome people.... The whole, you had to be there thing... :)

I found this book just too tedious, really struggled to finish it.

I read the original edit about 10 years ago and just didn't get it. But then I picked up the "original scroll" and loved it.

"Is this book really as boring..."

Nope.
BJ

Personally, I think that On the Road is a product of its time, and deserves to be judged as such.

Seems to me that, at the time, literature was all about the sorta ... gentlemen writers, or great literary figureheads: Hemingway, Steinbeck, etc. Then along come this guy with a massive best seller, and it's a first person narrative about him and his bummy, n'er do well artist friends, the dregs who howl outside your windows at three in the morning, drunk on cheap wine.

It's very much a departure from Hemingway's wonderfully straight, manly, characters, who travel the world and hunt and fish and whatnot. These are real people with real problems, and the book displays real emotions from real men: loss, love, jealousy, envy.

As well, it was a very straight-laced time, where everybody toed the line, wore suits to work. On the Road proclaimed the anti-thesis to all of this. It was the generation of people who didn't want any of those things described in full, the people you never saw on your TV or on the radio, the people who were living between the cracks.

Plus, in this kind of Made-For-Tv environment, for the average person to read about naked girls and jazz parties and dirty New York clubs with strange characters must have been something of a voyeuristic experience. The first covers of On the Road are rather black and severe, but later covers, paperbacks of the sort you see sold in bus stations and whatnot, depicted topless ladies lying down, and lots of suggestive material.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, is the WAY it was written. Kerouac figured that to write a story and then edit it was akin to a lie. A story must be told once, person to person, as if being told while sitting at a bar. So when you read On the Road, you are reading a FIRST DRAFT. Kerouac sat down and wrote all of it in three weeks, on one long roll of teletype paper.

The language in the book is amazing and poetic, and this all rolled out of him in the first shot, while staying up for days, writing, to keep the flow of the narrative.

I fully admit that when I first read On the Road I wondered about the hype, but then I read it again (because at the time I figured you really had to read a book twice to fully understand it) and the second time I absolutely loved it, as the language just popped off of the page. Every few years when I read it again, I'm always amazed.

My 2 cents.

Yes, its repetitive, but still so worth reading and so good. It made me want to drop everything and drive across the country without a purpose. It's all about the freedom, man. For me, I was okay with this book being kind of all over the place, because it was like I was on the trip with them--it offered me an escape route to nowhere, which is kind of what books are supposed to do.

I think there is "you had to be there" thing with this book.

Anyone who's ever stepped out and traveled on a shoestring, hopped trains, hitchhiked, backpacked across mountains or countries, had psychedelic visions or near death experiences probably enjoys this book. Not necessarily agrees with the characters' actions all the time, but understands the wisdom that can be gained through the road less taken. Plus the prose is so smooth!

I read On the Road recently...succeeded in finishing it...but I certainly do not understand the hype!! I was quite disappointed as I was expecting to love it. I did not take to any of the characters at all, furthermore I absolutely hated Dean!!

this was the first kerouac book id ever read. also, it took me three times to read get through. the first two times, i made less than page fifty. when i actually finished it, i was obsessed. i looked into kerouac and his style and the process of 'road'.

ultimately, yes its hard to get STARTED. however, if youre into counterculture, or even just literature in general, once youre IN the midst of the travels of the books, then ya shoot through it. this novel inspires for the entire spectrum.

I was riveted; but mainly what I remember about the book is how jealous I felt, at 13 y.o., because girls couldn't just hitchhike where they liked and have 'On the Road' sort of adventures. I did go on to read a number of Kerouac books and enjoyed them: The Subterraneans, Desolation Angels, The Dharma Bums. I don't know if I would enjoy them now and almost don't want to find out since reading a Kerouac bio I found rather depressing. As far as 'beat' writing goes, I probably prefer Paul Bowles.

Yes. But I hated The great Gatsby the first time around too. should probably re-read On The Road

I "got" On the Road, and enjoyed it to a degree but I believe Steinbeck's Travels with Charley is infinitely better-my favorite book.

Yes! It's the only book I have ever abandoned!

Can be quite tedious, but I still liked it. Dean Moriarty is amazing, but nobody really got him.

I listened to the audio book version of this, so it could be different if you read this. I found this to be a very light and enjoyable to listen to.

Dean Moriarti is one of the many young men that fill Williston or Medicine Hat. These kids are often unprepared for the world, when they get money they spend it, they drive to fast, and they don't care for the people around them. Sal is a likable enough kid, a bit immature, who doesn't realize why Dean a vexation.

Kerouac's style feels like your traveling or in a bar with someone who rambles. It is not deep, it is not a great story, and the characters certainly aren't role models. But, "On The Road" is a funny and enjoyable narrative.

I loved the book because it really felt like a friend sitting you down and telling you their story and all about their life. Plot wise it isn't life changingly brilliant, but i enjoyed it. I loved how it was a bit odd and a bit different than everything else.

I didn't find it BORING, per se, but some of the comments have pointed out the triteness, immaturity, what have you, of the characters, and I absolutely agree. I found myself annoyed at the characters more often than anything else. Sal pissed me off with that whole situation with the Mexican woman...he threw himself into that situation with earnest, but it was just a game, while for the woman and her children, that was their life, no getting out of it, no checks from auntie to come in the mail to buy the next tank of gas. And to say that he "wanted to be a Negro"...um, was he just completely blind to race relations in his country at the time? I was like, wow, what a freaking idiot.

And that's just my beef with the NARRATOR, mind you...

I read it years ago & loved it. I backpacked from San Fran to Charleston, SC when I was 19 & I found it easy to relate to this story back then. That being said, I'd like to read it again now that I'm in my 30's & see if it has the same effect.

I didn't know this was an anything book, started reading and thought there was something wrong with it, but then I really got IT, and I guess unless you don't get IT you can't fill the empty spaces of your life. But I can't think many women would like this. ANd it is visible, women readers don't like it on average, nor do soft men. If you havn't had a good dose of pain and fear don't even bother to try and understand it.

I love this book! Not boring at all! However, I will say that in order to appreciate it, I believe you have to somehow get into to synch, groove, melody and mind set of the author, the words, and the time period. Apparently, some are able to do this and some are not... The writing is rich, textured, metaphoric, NOT intellectual -- it is the type of book the reader must 'feel' and 'vibe with' rather than analyze.

I could not stand this book! One person's opinion, but I just feel like it's the kind of book people talk about when they are trying to sound cultured and well-read but I did not get that from it at. all. Maybe I'm uncultured and not well-read, but just yuck. It's been a little while since I've read it, but I don't remember anything exciting ever happening in it! I haven't looked into the movie, but doesn't it have Kristen Stewart in it? I don't remember On the Road being much of a love story. Anyone have opinions on the movie?

I read this a couple years liked it as a period piece. I think it is best to read it imagining the world as it was in post-war America. Just look at some advertisements from the 1940s and 1950s and put yourself in that world. Just from the clothing and hairstyles you know how much more tightly controlled (or repressed) the culture was back then. I found it fascinating that people would have considered the things Jack K. and friends were doing so radical. I can certainly empathize with the desire to break free from stifling cultural restrictions. Kerouac's writing is fantastic, poetic in its abundance and creativity and the book popularized an entire vocabulary not to mention a general attitude toward life.

That said, there another part of me that found this book annoying. That would be the female me, the one that would have gotten left behind in a frowzy house dress on the crumbling front stoop balancing a toddler on one hip and and screaming infant on the other while the guys continued their joyous romp across America, defying all those troublesome restrictions on their self expression. There is that sense of finding out what the world can "do" for them without the counterbalance of what they might owe to the world. Or at least to their own offspring.

Love this book. Boring? I think that's an opinion. I enjoyed the Original Scroll, not so much the edited version.

I like Kerouac and think his stuff was important. But I also understand the criticism. There is a commentary out there from the late, highly regarded literary critic, John Ciardi. You can probably find it on line. He skewers Kerouac in some ways that are irrefutable. But I still like Kerouac.

I am able to forgive that he did not edit himself or allow anyone else to do any serious editing for him. This seems lazy to me rather than the principled decision some of his fans contend it was. Yet, I have no difficulty putting that aside. It is ironic though. The decision not to edit may explain why some folks in this thread have concluded that "he can't write." I find that funny for some reason.

Got me started on my love of the road trip (early 20s) and I fell in love with Neal Cassady, something that would probably horrify me now.

I'm currently reading it and yes, I'm struggling to get through. There are parts that I enjoy, but then it becomes repetitive and it bores me. But I won't give up finishing it just because I don't like abandoning a book once I've started it. I especially hate the parts when Kerouac says that something is about to happen and then nothing happens, at least nothing interesting. This really gets on my nerves.
I think that this is not the kind of story that needs to be read, it has to experienced. And while Dean Moriarty seems like a crazy person, I find Sal Paradise kind of naive and totally attached to Dean in a very pointless way. But that's just my opinion and while I'm talking I still haven't finished the book. Probably I will change my mind at the end.

Sharon wrote: "I could not got through this "great classic"!"

I love this book maybe because it reminds me of myself, or a version of myself had I taken the path Jack and others did. Still tedious... very tedious, and it took me a long time to get through the whole book simply because I would put it down every few pages. I think he had really great potential, but his mind was all over the place with the help of distractions and he never took the real time needed to hone in on his true talents and passions because the road always called him back out. these are all speculations though, as I know nothing about jack other than what he's written about his own life in the few books I've read :)

overall... his life pursuit wasn't to appeal to the conventional audiences of America, he shared a very personal and beautifully expressed account of his lifestyle and I thank him for that.

This works for me on so many levels. It tells the story of post-war America for starters. The first generation to face the possibility of nuclear holocaust. The first to experience wealth beyond anything visited upon any people's of the world.
But also this is America at the crossroads. The old order is giving way to the new. The new America will be more open, socially, sexually, and musically. But in other ways, America will lose traditions and freedoms that will change it irreversibly.
The tension between the new pressures to conform and the traditional American resistance to conformity are laid bare. This novel is a death knell to the idea of pioneer spirit. It is brilliant.

It's sort of like people under a certain age saying that Bob Dylan has an awful voice & you can't understand anything he sings...it's a taste acquired through a certain lifestyle that most people under the age of 45 probably didn't have access to.

I read it in my early 20's and loved it. I couldn't put it down, then a number of years later I tried to read it again and found it rather tedious, a completely different book. I must read it again though and give it another go. I read a quote the other day that Darwin found Shakespeare boring to the point of being nauseous. It's all rather subjective to me when we read literature etc.

Can kinda understand why some people dont get on with the book, its pretty idiosyncratically written but it is anything but boring! A travel of miles, sex and drugs its intense, long winded at times but not boring.

I wanted to like it, but I agree. Boring. Now it will be a boring movie.

I think one that of the most amazing things in the world is the ability that everyone has to have an opinion completely opposite of another person, anyway have you ever wondered how the world would be a crap if everyone liked the same thing? To me "On the Road" is one of the most exciting books I've ever read in my entire life and I still feel exactly the same feeling every time I read it. The first time just stopped after 24 hours and only when I finished. I still remember the feeling of having read one of the best stories of all time and how much I was sweating and running to move to the next page as soon as possible because I was being driven by my curiosity to see the story being told by someone who had a vision of world so different from mine. Exaggeration? Not for me. I just love it!

Yes! So glad there's someone else who shares my opinion--I definitely think this is one of the most overrated books out there.

Sharon wrote: "I could not got through this "great classic"!"

Getting beyond the "us vs. them" insecurity of, 'I'm so glad I found other people who agree with my opinion, how reassuring!' And other people chiming in with 'Yes, how dare millions of people make us feel challenged!' (it isn't a battle, after all)

My personal opinion (I need no one to corroborate what I'm about to say in order for me to feel justified) is that the people who don't get this book are born and bred in an era where they really CAN'T get this book. The types of people, the landscape, the lifestyle, the philosophy, the kind of country described in this work have been closed off and made irrelevant to people.

Simple answer to this question is Yes - it really is. If there is to be a movie (groan!) I expect it will feel like it goes on for bloody ever as well.

There are a couple of bios of Kerouac out there that will help add to the enjoyment of this book. But no, on a surface level, going at it cold, it's not boring. Remove ideas or preconceived notions of the popular-culture depiction of the beats, and replace it with the rootless post WWII era of youth in this country instead.

That said I have not read the one Jack wrote about his
african-american girlfriend which he disquised as native-american.If I read one more by him it will be that one.I think I prefer John Clellon Holmes at least
judging by "Go".I dig the poem "Howl" by Ginsberg and
not much else by Allen.I bought a poetry book by Gary
Snyder another beat book that I will read.Synder was
the inspiration for a major character of "Dharma Bums".
He was one of the more intresting characters I read in
that book as a teenager.

This is one of the most over-rated books in modern literature. It was boring and lame. Even when Kerouac tries to lure in the reader using his gang's drug-use and promiscuity it still fails to make for an enjoyable and fun read. The book is said to have "defined a generation" - I have no idea what generation? I don't think a handful of writers living between the West Village and San Francisco in the 60s defines a whole generation...

I thought this was boring as well, I barely finished it. I liked "Into The Wild" much better.

I agree that 'The Dharma Bums' is the better book of the two. I first read On The Road in my teens and found it inspiring and exciting.

Yes, and poorly written too.

Sharon wrote: "I could not got through this "great classic"!"

On The Road is more of a cultural milestone than a novel. Kerouac really wasn't much of a writer. But he started something. Odd how a mediocre book can change the world in a way most great books don't. Neal Cassidy (Dean Moriarty) came along at about the same time as James Dean. Something was in the air.

I agree with Michael, On the Road is one of those books that changes depending on when you read it. I read it as a young man in college and absolutely loved it. Since then I've read it a number of times, including the "Scroll" version. When I read it in my 40's I found it tedious, boring, and the characters kind of trite.

I just gave a copy to my 19 year old daughter, be curious what she thinks.

"On the road"? Never boring !