The Mind of Jack Kerouac

THE MIND OF JACK KEROUAC

For the last fifteen months or so, I've attempted to read the late Jack Kerouac's iconic 1957 novel 'On The Road', four times. I've mentioned before how I always seemed to make it to chapter four, so I ended up knowing the first few parts of the story very very well, and then for some reason I would just stop. I'd lose interest. Put the book down and think nah, can't be doing with that, and move onto something else, a ritual I never really understood because I actually quite liked what I was reading. I was actually enjoying the prose, the interesting array of characters, the snippets of gorgeously poetic language interspersed here and there, the developing storyline, that is until I decided each time that I couldn't be bothered to read the rest. Strange, isn't it? But anyhow, it now gives me great immense pleasure to let you guys know that the unimaginable, the unthinkable, the previously unachievable has happened. This morning I finally finished the absolutely brilliant 'On The Road'. Fifth time round, 293 pages later and six weeks after I originally started reading it again, when I was on holiday in the beautiful, magical Copenhagen, I finally made it to that hallowed ending page, and was able to put the book down feeling a great deal of enlightenment and accomplishment. It was just incredible.

This time round I told myself I must keep powering on. Ride it out every time I began to feel my interest waning and desiring to give in to complacency. Highlight all the gorgeous quotes I liked. I had a feeling that it was the kind of novel that is actually very rewarding, once you dedicate your time and effort to it. The kind of novel that opens itself up to you to reveal all these gems embedded within it. And it's true. Although 'On The Road' has the occasional pieces of prose that may cause your attention and interest to falter, every now and then, on the converse the vast majority of the book actually makes for a very gripping, moving and mesmerising read. Through the guise of alter egos, this semi-autobiographical tale tells the story of Jack Kerouac's awe inspiring, honest, crazy travels criss crossing and hitch-hiking across the great lands of America, from 1947 to 1950, with his good friend Neal Cassady and other friends. Aside from the characters of Sal Paradise (Jack) and Dean Moriarty (Neal), and their interesting, complex, close relationship, a juxtaposition of two opposites with shared interests and desires, what I loved most about 'On The Road' is Jack Kerouac's prose style, especially his beautiful descriptions of the grand American landscape he saw along the way. It's so vivid, so captivating, so delicately stunning, and you can instantly paint the picture his words instruct so strongly in your mind, so much so that it's almost like you get to experience those magical sights for yourself too. You can imagine how amazing that entire experience across the great continent must've been. So if you like interesting characters, adventure, the beauty of the world, the eccentricity of youth, if you're familiar with that relentless, restless impulse to get out there and do things, see the world, be wild, crazy, just live, then you should definitely give 'On The Road' a go. This is your kind of book. It was made for people like you. And definitely don't give up reading at chapter 4, as there's a lot more adventure and magic just waiting to unfold. Trust me.

However aside from the actual book itself, the final thing that I enjoyed most about reading and actually finishing 'On The Road' this time, was how it intrigued me into finding out more about its author, Jack Kerouac. Knowing that the main character and narrator Sal Paradise was his guise, through which he fed aspects of himself into, reading the book felt like gaining a special kind of insight into the kind of man Jack Kerouac was, and I personally found him to be quite an endearing individual. I felt like I could relate to him, I identified with a lot of his emotions, ideas, unique perspectives of the world. Going away and reading Jack's story, finding out more about him helped me to both understand 'On The Road' even better, as did it explain why Jack Kerouac was the way he was, why he did what he did, the kind of person he really was when everything else was stripped away. I found it to be very interesting and almost re-assuring to know that someone like him existed, as did it feel kind of comforting when I found some quotes of Jack's. I kept identifying so strongly with the words he wrote both in his novels and outside of them, so much so that I felt I should assemble some of my favourites and share them on here with you guys too. So that's what I've done, along with the words I've written above, as my way of honouring a truly brilliant literary talent and ultimately kind, loving, though tortured, soul.

If you want to find out more about Jack Kerouac, just click here, and if you want to read 'On The Road' then click here, and I hope you enjoy the novel as much as I did!