On The Road - Jack Kerouac

I really should have read this book before now.

The music of Bob Dylan hasn't been off my ipod for a few years now, and Kerouac's stream of consciousness prose clearly had a big influence on Dylan's music.

Its one of those books that are so hyped and ubiquitous that surely it could only ever be slightly disappointing...?? (zeitgeist for the beat generation, quoted to death, much copied stylistically, blah blah blah)

But it was an engrossing read. The narrator Sal Paradise (loosely based on Kerouac himself) journeys from coast to coast across the USA following the free-spirited, fleet-footed, charismatic, selfish, irresponsible dreamer known as Dean Moriarty, in awe of him the whole way.

The two are difficult to warm to throughout due to their womanising, selfish manner - but their journeys are engrossingly described by Kerouac, the book has a real rhythm to it. I was reading the book while spending a few weeks doing bits and pieces of travelling across the USA, Ireland, Scotland and England which probably added to my enjoyment.

The heart of the book is the journey rather than the characters - their constant moving on signifying a restlessness and a yearning for something more, which I suspect is what Kerouac wanted to portray more than merely a character study of Sal or Dean. "Boys and girls in America have such a sad time together" is one of Sal's opening lines, and sets the tone for the optimistic searching that all the main characters are pre-occupied with.

Kerouac, a lapsed Catholic himself, allows Sal to show some signs of guilt and awareness of his own irresponsiblity and that of Dean's as the book goes on - and Sal eventually settles down into something close to domesticity by the end.

My main memory of the books is how it swings, especially when Dean takes centre stage. Sure, the language of how he "digs" everything is much-caricatured now - but the restless energy of the book is what I found so enjoyable.

My favourite line was when, during one of the many spontaneous parties, Sal described the atmosphere thus; "There was dancing but no music. Just dancing."
They were living life at such a rhythm that they didn't even music to get going, to revive them, to make them feel any more alive.

Highly recommended reading.