Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - On the Road

Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

12 reviews

tobiassoar's review against another edition

adventurous reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

There are moments of brilliance where I truly understand how novel this book was in its time.

However, the majority of the time I was either bored or repulsed by the racist and paedophilic passing comments by the narrator.

I understand it’s a product of its time and should be treated as such, but it was truly a slog to get through at times.

And if he loved Dean so much, they should have just kissed.

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hypocrisis's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

couldn't get past the racism, pedophilia and misogyny (unfortunately?).
Selfish and self-destructive characters like Dean Moriarty can only be romanticised as 'angel(s) of terror' and prophets from the safe distance of a reader ...or a protagonist who's in a permanent state of intoxication.
I'm sure it was groundbreaking at the time, but the lifestyle described doesn't appeal to me, even though i do give into 'madness' at times and love 'kicks'. Maybe I'd get it if i had a real connection to american culture and jazz, or if i had a driver's license lol. Maybe I'm too stuck in my middle-class ways to see it, but i didn't get the point of all these roadtrips just to do the same thing with the same people all over again.

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tumbly_weed's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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antares's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

90% of this book is Dean having a manic episode and dragging Sal along with him

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sophiajkessler's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The main takeaway for this book for me was something I already knew: straight men are more in love with each other than they could ever love any woman. It was quite obvious to me that Sal and Dean love one another and this is to an extent a love story. Hence why Sal overlooks how bloody annoying Dean is which we as the readers have to suffer through, whilst Sal gushes about how great he is. Cognitive dissonance much? Other readers have commented ( and I agree) that although this book has beautiful prose it is plot deficient and there are precious few actually likeable characters. To me this didn't detract from the book though as it helped develop the sense of loneliness and isolation that an itinerant lifestyle engenders no matter how freeing it might be. People who aspire to this kind of lifestyle should look at the endings of the protagonist and deuteragonist to find the moral of the story:

Sal makes his way off the road and finds his happiness. Dean never does and seems unable to do either. We leave him to an uncertain fate, having lost all the friends and lovers of his journey and also Sal, his probable soulmate.

A cautionary tale about the dangers of a lifestyle many idealise even if its simultaneously a love story, both to the road itself and between its main characters. Best enjoyed if you yourself are actually on a roadtrip! At times I could practically see and feel the emotioms and scenery described. Beware of the content warnings though.

Content Warnings

e_jc's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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zo__ish's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

It took me four months to read this book, which is very unusual for me. I wanted to like it so bad, I had good friends tell me I would like it (I love travel, I love meeting people, and I love prose and detail) but boy did I suffer reading this. I felt crazy! But there is some comfort in knowing even Capote had no kind words for Kerouac’s most well known novel (“That’s not writing; That’s just typing”).

Normally I am a huge fan of character driven novels, I don’t need much plot. However, Sal (aka Kerouac) and Dean were flat and insufferable. There was little to no character arc. However, Kerouac does write dialogue very well, he depicts tension between characters and the way they move beautifully, but it was a chore to try and get into.

There are some sentences, paragraphs, and chapters that I underlined and loved; page 15 waking up with the sun and the anguish of not knowing who you are or what you want, the chapter going through Denver to Central Cities, or the whole entirety of Terry and the San Joaquin valley. I wish these bits were enough to make up for the rest.

Kerouac’s writing lacks the depth I want in a story(it also feels passionless, or apathetic, somehow Kerouac feels incredibly distanced from a story that mingles with autobiography), there are some beautiful depictions of cities and towns in America.

The last chapter of One The Road was one of the best parts, if not the best. Maybe because I was so excited to be done with it.

LA is a jungle. [….]

The beatest characters in the country swarmed on the sidewalks-all of it under those soft Southern California stars that are lost in the brown halo of the huge desert encampment LA really is. You could smell the tea, weed, I mean marijuana, floating in the air, together with the chili beans and beer. (77)

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erinwolf1997's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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serving_goffman's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

this is a difficult one to review.. it is safe to say that the slang is passé and the racial and especially misogynistic sentimentalities are absolutely appalling. But on the other hand the search for something meaningful to hold on to - the famous IT and TIME - the tales of passionate friendship and spiritual revelation are timeless. It also contains some of the most beautiful prose ever written and reads like an insane rollercoaster ride. this is beat americana distilled into one of the maddest books i’ve ever read.

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faerieoak's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

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