Hi, I’m Kerrin Revell, welcome to my journey of thought, which today is about On the Road by Jack Kerouac.
No this isn’t about a road trip I am on; it is however about a book I am reading; On the Road by Jack Kerouac. This is somewhat of a departure for me as I prefer to read non-fiction books. This is the first fiction I have read in about a decade. I decided to read it as I have seen it referenced numerous times in books and it reportedly inspired an entire generation. This all made it seem too good not to take a look at it.
I found it slightly difficult to start with as it is written in a stream-of-conciseness style, (the author called it spontaneous prose) which I am not used to. I quickly got over that and am now really enjoying it. However I am still not going through it as quickly as I normally would with a non-fiction book.
Whilst I am only half-way through, it has stirred up feelings of wanting to be travelling again and I can definitely see how it has influenced countless amounts of people.
I’m not going to write a review of it as there are already so many out there, I will however recommend you read it.
If you’re unfamiliar with On the Road, it is set in the USA during the mid to late 1940’s and contains sex, drugs and rock… er… I mean jazz. Sal Paradise is the main character and narrator. It follows Sal on his journey through the country with (and sometimes without) his friend (and part scoundrel) Dean Moriarty.
The most interesting thing about this book is that Jack Kerouac typed his manuscript (much to the chagrin of his publisher) out on pieces of paper all stuck together. You can see it below.
Where is the next journey of thought taking us to? Subscribe/follow and find out.
