Londons Falling

To the ends of the continent and beyond....

Rating: 4/5
Comments:
For anyone who has ever done a proper road trip with their friends, or is still trying to summon up the courage or last couple of dollars to do so, this is the book for you. I would classify this as the ultimate in road trip narration. It is said that Kerouac taped hundreds of pages together to create one 120 foot document so he wouldn't have to stop his stream-of-consciousness, even to change the paper. And this book certainly reads like that is true. The chapters fly by like States along the 1-40 west, some a mere pit stop, others as long and as grand as the Lone Star state itself. Kerouac's wording is straight from the heart and mind, and one can almost envisage him there sweating over his typewriter in his mother's apartment as the words came flowing out ever so quickly. Nouns, adjectives , superlatives and the occasional expletive come spewing out like miles along the road. Some are bumpier than others, but some seem to glide so seamlessly and endlessly just like the Cadillac limo, on the trip to Chicago, in the story. Like Hemingway's novels, this one makes you long for the simple pleasures in life, like bread and salami sandwiches, $2 beers, the songs, smells and music of 3000 miles of open road across the grand country that is the good old U.S. of A. For those, who have been in these small towns and big cities, Kerouac explains, in excruciating detail, every crack in the street, thickness in the air, smell of humanity and high voltage sexmosphere that vibrates and exuberates from each and every stop along the way. Whether it be San Francisco's 11 hills and international cuisine, Denver's side streets of ex-cons, Chicago's intermittent guests headed East or West or the swirls of the beat generation as it is born in the bars and jazz houses of NYC, this book captures a generation, but even more so, crosses over to following ones. If you are planning a road trip or don't have the means to go on one, either way this is the book for you. It will make you want to kiss the lips of pretty girls you meet, drink your sorrows away, jump on the proverbial road of life and haul ass, and then long to come back home to the bittersweet nostalgia of family and friends again... and that's just in Part 1. A definite read for the checklist of great classic American literature.

On The Road

Rating: 4/5
Comments:
I personally feel this book is amazing. I have always had a yearn for traveling, always wanting to go on a road trip around the United States, reading this book to me is exciting. Jack Kerouac wrote this novel in 3 weeks time, writing 7 years of his life into this great story. What a lot of people do not know is yes, he wrote this in 3 weeks, but it took many years for it to be finally published, he had to change and rewrite it over and over. In the first draft, all the real names and story of his life were in there, but no publishers liked that, so he changed it to what it is today.

Another thing, I see many people saying there was no plot, there is not supposed to be one, if you had a diary (which reading this is like reading someone's diary) does that have a plot? Ann Frank did not have a plot, because it was a diary. His writing in this novel is like being told a life story with your friends, I don't mind how it is written, it is exciting as it would be traveling on the road not knowing what is going to happen next.

Sal AKA Jack Kerouac always wanted to travel, after meeting Dean Moriarty AKA Neal Cassady, he finally got the inspiration and left to be on the road, traveling across the US, meeting really interesting people along the way. Along with finding a way to get around, he found many jobs to try to survive. Dean is one crazy free spirit who is a real bad influence on Sal, but a very big influence in his life at that, they go through some crazy situations together, and Sal learns a lot about life. Anyone I would think most people would love to just leave their lives and take off not knowing what was going to happen every second, I know I wish I could go on that road trip, but there is no way I would even go into the next town less than $50 bucks, unlike Sal who made it clear across the country on that.

Another thing, is how interesting it is when he describes what places look like, I was born way way after the 40's and 50's and now live in Sacramento, and am very amazed that only 50 years ago, it was fields and hut like housing....my my what the world has come too, wishing I could eat burgers and shakes for less than two bucks...this is pretty much reading about history to me, and it's very interesting to learn about the many different things that happened before my time.

I say if you have a yearn for traveling, and like reading a great book, this is a must-read.

Best if read in a weekend.

Rating: 3/5
Comments:
If your style of reading is slower, aka you read about 10-20 pages on your way to work and 10-20 pages before going to bed, it's a tough book to follow and stay excited about. If you read quickly this is a fun read that allows you to explore the friendship and lives of two of the most interesting characters youll meet.

Great book... but depends on your reading style!