On the Road by Jack KerouacMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
I finally got around to reading this book, and pretty much got what I expected - unlikable characters and a non-existent plot. I know this is heralded as the epitome of Beat generation writing, but it doesn't translate to the 21st century, non-white-American global citizen. One cannot fathom why the characters do what they do and insist on associating with dangerous and annoying people. For all of protagonist Sal's wish to travel across the country, he doesn't change, become better or understand anything by the end of the book. To me, he remained the same, making the same mistakes over and over and pandering to an attention-seeker like Dean Moriarty. There's nothing redeeming these characters, and they're all interchangeable. The fact that it's semi-autobiographical, makes me wonder why an artiste like Kerouac didn't try and broaden his horizons by mixing with diverse kinds of people. Of course, all this was a long time ago, and people reacted very differently to those of colour, or any difference. Unfortunately, it makes the book's characters carbon copies of each other - each one a heterosexual, self-entitled white American teenager with family/father issues.
The writing is undeniably vivid, yet the stream of consciousness style makes some of it incoherent. The story is never hard to follow, yet there's not much interest in following it.
I understand why this kind of book was a revelation when it was first written. Narcissistic, wayward youngsters with ambition-less self-entitlement burst the bubble of the perfect society that people were apparently living in at the time; yet, with no arc or growth in the characters the message is lost and in the end pointless.
While there's no denying the need for books that reflect society, without a commentary on the same to go with it, it fails to remain poignant or relevant.
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