On the Road, Viking Press 1957
Jack Kerouac

This is another book that I picked up for a book club (A fine book club, by the way. And it came with chocolate).

I’d first read this book when I was 15 or 16, and I remember loving it–being totally filled with wanderlust at all the vivid descriptions of Sal Paradise’s adventures and panoramas. For the second time around, I decided to pick up an audio version, this one read by Matt Dillon.

If you’re in the mood for an audio book, I’d recommend this one. Matt Dillon’s voice is as easy on the ears as his face is on the eyes. It was really a great way to get the story, especially since I listened to it while at a horribly boring temp job. While handwriting a high-powered executive’s Christmas cards (you know, for the *personal* touch that only a temp can bring), I was transported to the open road on the backs of pick-up trucks and in the passenger seat of speeding beat-up sedans. I rode with Kerouac through the great Western frontier, and watched the drug-induced manic version of freedom that these fellas were chasing. The vistas that Kerouac described were just as vivid and enjoyable as I’d remembered from the first time around. In a book where plot takes a backstage, I realized just how much Kerouac’s powers of description really shine through.

This is most true of the last third of the book, when the characters take a trip down to Mexico. One of the book club members mentioned that Kerouac felt that his writing had improved as the book went on, and I’d agree. The last third of the book, in fact, is where Sal’s character really shows any growth. And the Mexican jungle is so alive and sensual in his hands.

For those of you unfamiliar with the story: Loosely based on Kerouac’s own experiences, Sal Paradise travels back and forth across the country, hooking up with the spirited and lunatic Dean Moriarity–a character modeled after Beat poet Neal Cassady. Much of it was culled from Kerouac’s journals, but the actual manuscript was apparently written over three weeks’ time, on a large role of teletype paper with no paragraph breaks. This novel became the breakout book of the Beat Generation, a movement as infamous for its counterculture as for its literary productions.

Characters are a less refined species in Kerouacland than scenery. And you’re not expected to like all of them. Though Sal is the narrator of the novel, the real “hero” in Sal’s eyes is Dean–a passionate, irresponsible womanizer who leaves marriages, children, and some amazing nights for his buddies, in his wake. Woman play a role much like drugs and jazz: that is, they’re highly coveted, intoxicating, and entertaining. But they’re also discarded when they interupt the pursuit of the true drug at the base of this journey: the freedom to pursue directionless adventure; to be untethered.

It’s always interesting to write commentary on a book that has become a classic among both academic and leisure readers. Reading it as an adult, and as a relatively experienced reader, I found it still to be a solid and passionate piece of writing. There were parts when it dragged a little, and there’s a bit of naive overglorification (of Dean, for instance), but it’s really worth it. And listen, sportsfans: they’re making a movie. Of course, I’m A#1 skeptic of movies made from books. Though the movie may end up being lovely and all that jazz, I only ask that you read the book first. It’s really wonderful to be able to visualize the places that Sal visits, and to let yourself sink into Kerouac’s descriptions. It’s something you should not miss.

Listen to NPR’s story on On the Road

and this one