I finished reading Jack Kerouac’s novel ‘On The Road’ last night. I read it because it was a that kept cropping up in podcasts that I listened to, I guess because it is very much an ‘in-the-moment’ description of a series of random incidents. The novel is written from the perspective of Sal Paradise, a youngish American man in the late 1940s/early 1950s who criss-crosses the USA, sometimes alone and sometimes with traveling companions (planned or otherwise). Basically, Sal has a series of adventures, none of which are especially dramatic or meaningful but which, nevertheless, add together into a journey of self-discovery. Sal comes across as a relatively level-headed guy which is more than can be said for his frequent companion Dean who seems to be a complete hot-head and totally out-of-control (marrying two women and having several children, leaving them multiple times, driving at incredible speeds, never sleeping, always partying etc). Dean clearly represents freedom and spontaneity and is a balance to the more measured and thoughtful Sal who is an observer of life and people (also a writer).
It’s an interesting book but also quite an odd one. I would say that I enjoyed it although I also found myself wanting to get it finished. It was almost as if I knew that being on the journey with Sal and Dean was never going to take me to an end destination and that the only way to escape was to jump off the pages.
One thing that particularly intrigues me is that my younger daughter (19) has told me that this is her favourite book, She is not a particularly avid reader and so I find it interesting that this particular title resonates with her. She has also read a few of Kerouac’s other novels (Big Sur, The Dharma Bums, The Town and The City) so there is obviously something about his style/message that catches her mind. Kerouac’s writing IS richly descriptive and somewhat hypnotic at times and ‘On The Road’ certainly captures a sense of youthful spirit and experiencing existence for it’s own sake.
Tim O'Hare 