On the Road - Book Review

Sometimes the classics are classics for a reason.  I recently finished On the Road, by Jack Kerouac. Going into the book, I had no expectations and didn't even have an idea of what it was really about or why is was so renowned. However, I quickly realized that the style of writing was exactly what I love. It is written beautifully, without any extra words or unnecessary ramblings.  In essence, it is dozens of short stories, written across time, featuring the same characters, perfected blended together. The book chronicles the adventures of  Sal Paradise and his criss-crossing travels across the US in the 1940s and 50s. The motivations for travel (jazz, sex, adventure, love, destiny, etc) were sublimely etched on the pages, easily conferring feelings that I had no experience with or context to understand. But more than anything, every sentence seems to have a purpose and nothing is left unsaid. What makes it exceptional is a ranting, poetic style that usually emotes self-indulgence. But this book has a purity of soul and is an unique example of how to write descriptively without seeming forced or long-winded. Although I found the characters charming (and disgraceful), and the story fascinating, it was certainly dated (I wonder what it would have been like to read this in 1957). On the Road may not be for everyone, but it was certainly for me.

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