Product Description

"On the Road" swings to the rhythms of 1950s underground America, jazz, sex, generosity, chill dawns and drugs, with Sal Paradise and his hero Dean Moriarty, traveller and mystic, the living epitome of Beat. Now recognized as a modern classic, its American Dream is nearer that of Walt Whitman than Scott Fitzgerald, and it goes racing towards the sunset with unforgettable exuberance, poignancy and autobiographical passion.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #929 in Books
• Published on: 2000-02-24
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
On The Road, the most famous of Jack Kerouac's works, is not only the soul of the Beat movement and literature, but one of the most important novels of the century. Like nearly all of Kerouac's writing, On The Road is thinly fictionalised autobiography, filled with a cast made of Kerouac's real life friends, lovers and fellow travellers. Narrated by Sal Paradise, one of Kerouac's alter-egos, this cross-country bohemian odyssey not only influenced writing in the years since its 1957 publication but penetrated into the deepest levels of American thought and culture. --Acton Lane

Review
A memorable and influential rather than a great book. But teenagers love this novel of long roads, big cars, free jazz and loose women without reservation. Kerouac wrote the book in 12 days of 'continuous bop prosody' on an unbroken roll of wrapping paper - for writers, fame might be just a fortnight away. Sadly much of Kerouac's other work seems dated and simple-minded but On the Road is still of tremendous human and historical interest. (Kirkus UK)

Synopsis
"On the Road" swings to the rhythms of 1950s underground America, jazz, sex, generosity, chill dawns and drugs, with Sal Paradise and his hero Dean Moriarty, traveller and mystic, the living epitome of Beat. Now recognized as a modern classic, its American Dream is nearer that of Walt Whitman than Scott Fitzgerald, and it goes racing towards the sunset with unforgettable exuberance, poignancy and autobiographical passion.

Customer Reviews

Simply Beautiful
I first read this book when I was 18 years old and as cliched as it may sound it changed my entire outlook on life. It illustrated to me that rebellion and individuality are the best of things and that even in a world as violent and corrupt as this one, love and friendship can still prosper. The visceral and profound honesty with which Kerouac writes takes the reader to the heart of the action and the unrelenting pace of the narrative propels one on and on, just like Sal and Dean themselves are propelled to "go go go". No literature fan can afford not to read this all time great, that Kerouac never really came close to matching. Simply beautiful.

On the Road-an alternative review
I started reading this book after hearing for so many years what a great classic it was!
I got to page 60, mostly by determination rather than interest.
This book is absolute rubbish-it's an unrelenting and monotonously boring monologue of some guy who thinks that we would be interested in what he bought from the local shop, the conversation he had with the petrol station attendant, where and how he slept for the night, etc, etc, ad nauseam.
Bob Dylan says on the back and I quote:-"... this book will change your life". Other people eulogise over how it changed..."the face of a nation"
Well, if this is the book that helped shape America in the 50's, it's very easy to see why we have a lot to fear from Americans!
These people don't have the first idea what great literature is.
On the Road is a joke, a pretence toward great literature, and as such an insult to the intelligence of anyone who picks up this and thinks he/she is going to get a great read.
My copy is going in the waste bin where it belongs.

Overrated
I fail to understand why this book has got such wonderful reviews and why people rave about it- it is completly tedious to read- Keroac wrote it in 4 weeks and it shows!