On the Road (Penguin Modern Classics) Book

'On The Road' is the second novel written by American author and doyen of the Beat Generation Jack Kerouac which, breaking from the more conventional Thomas Wholfe influenced style of his debut novel 'The Town And The City', introduces his Jazz-influenced spontaneous prose technique of writing, the essential elements of which - Kerouac suggested - were to 'Write what you want bottomless from bottom of the mind - The unspeakable visions of the individual.'

In 'On The Road' Kerouac recounts the experiences of the long road trips he took across the heart of the United States in search of something new, some way of life or some experience, beyond the nine-to-five existence, with a house on a tree lined block and a white picket fence, which was the prevailing view of American life; but, more than plot, it is really a novel of characters, and chief among them is Dean Moriarty the character based upon Kerouac's real-life friend, and member of the Beat Generation, Neal Cassady, wonderfully described by Kerouac in this passage from the novel:

'The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes 'Awww!'

'On The Road' is an autobiographical account of this travelling period in Kerouac's life which he claimed took seven years to live and then, in April 1951, just three weeks to write. He wrote relentlessly, typing all day and night onto sheets of teletype paper taped together to create a scroll 120-feet in length which allowed him to write continuously and spontaneously without need to pause. Such was the novel's originality in style, however, that it took another six years after completing the manuscript for Kerouac to find a publisher willing to publish the novel; and yet on its eventual publication in 1957 the book soon became a precursor for the cultural revolution of the 1960s, with many denizens of the decade's counterculture citing Jack Kerouac, and 'On The Road' particularly, as an inspiration.

It's clear now that the novel was perfectly apt for the spirit of the times in which it was released and marked the awakening of a young generation determined to push beyond the conservatism of their cultural milieu; as William S. Burroughs, author of 'The Naked Lunch' and 'Nova Express', and member of the Beat Generation, said of the cultural change affected by the influence of Kerouac's work, 'Writers are, in a way, very powerful indeed. They write the script for the reality film. Kerouac opened a million coffee bars and sold a million pairs of Levis to both sexes. Woodstock rises from his pages.'

Nowadays, more than half a century on since its publication, a reader coming to 'On The Road' for the first time may be forgiven for doubting that the book can still have as much relevance to a modern reader; and even if one were to concede that certain aspects of the book have dated since its initial publication, the intention would not be to suggest that the book has lost all relevance entirely. The rhythm of Kerouac's spontaneous prose is, at its best, a joy to read; and the spirit of the book, with its insatiable hunger for all that life has to offer, is as inspiring now as it must have been half a century ago. The experience of reading 'On The Road' for the first time is one I'm glad not to have missed; and if read at the right time, while still young enough to believe the world to be an oyster, 'On The Road' should prove inspiring like few other books.

Five decades after it was first published Jack Kerouac's seminal beat novel "On the Road" finally finds its way to the big screen in a production from award-winning director Walter Salles ("Motorcycle Diaries") starring Sam Riley ("Control Brighton Rock") Garret Hedlund ("Friday Night Lights") Kristen Stewart ("Twilight") Kirsten Dunst Amy Adams and Viggo Mortensen. Sal Paradise ("Sam Riley") a young innocent joins his hero Dean Moriarty ("Garrett Hedlund") a traveller and mystic the living epitome of Beat on a breathless exuberant ride back and forth across the United States. Their hedonistic search for release or fulfilment through drink sex drugs and jazz becomes an exploration of personal freedom a test of the limits of the American dream. A brilliant blend of fiction and autobiography Jack Kerouac's exhilarating novel swings to the rhythms of 1950s underground America racing towards the sunset with unforgettable exuberance poignancy and autobiographical passion. One of the most influential and important novels of the 20th century "On the Road" is the book that launched the Beat Generation and remains the bible of that literary movement.Jack Kerouac (1922-69) was an American novelist poet artist and part of the Beat Generation. His first published novel "The Town and the City" appeared in 1950 but it was "On the Road" published in 1957 that made Kerouac famous. Publication of his many other books followed among them "The Subterraneans" "Big Sur" and "The Dharma Bums". Kerouac died in Florida at the age of forty-seven. "The most beautifully executed the clearest and the most important utterance yet made by the generation Kerouac himself named years ago as "beat"' The New York Times 'Pop writing at its best. It changed the way I saw the world making me yearn for fresh experience." (Hanif Kureishi "Independent on Sunday"). ""On the Road" sold a trillion Levis and a million espresso machines and also sent countless kids on the road." ("William Burroughs").

On the Road swings to the rhythms of 1950s underground America, jazz, sex, generosity, chill dawns and drugs, with Sal Paradise and his hero Dean Moriarty, traveller and mystic, the living epitome of Beat. Now recognized as a modern classic, its American Dream is nearer that of Walt Whitman than Scott Fitzgerald, and it goes racing towards the sunset with unforgettable exuberance, poignancy and autobiographical passion.

Jack Kerouac, Ann Charters