Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - On the Road

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

aly_vee_'s review against another edition

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adventurous medium-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

Content Warnings

nessafurtado'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

2.0

Para um livro escrito em três semanas tem seus pontos fortes; as paisagens descritas, o pós guerra, o nascimento da geração beat, algumas boas frases sobre amor e a vida. Eu consigo entender o porquê tanta gente romantiza esse livro.
Agora, os personagens são, na grande maioria, detestáveis. Demandou muito esforço mental tentar compreender o que Sal via em Dean, uma fé e dedicação totalmente cegas e unilaterais. Os comentários de Dean sobre mulheres, e uma criança eram deploráveis; os comentários relacionados a pessoas pretas ou gays não eram melhores. Não importa o tempo em que isso aconteceu - 1950, 1960 - isso NÃO é desculpa para ser uma pessoa ruim/babaca.

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amelody'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

2.0

Sal Paradise is a colossal ass. Hated these characters. William Burroughs ("Bull Lee") was the only one worth knowing. And he was a self proclaimed junkie--and certainly no hero. Kerouac seems to have been an irresponsible, privileged, little snot whose rambling search for himself or for adventure led him to use everyone he came into contact with to the best of his abilities. The only saving grace of this book (beyond Bull Lee's practical interludes) is the fact that Kerouac/Paradise at least described the settings well.

Content Warnings

touchingartt's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark 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

2.25

As much as this is a classic, it was actually really hard to read it and there are a few reasons for that:
1) All characters, especially Dean, do not seem like genuinely good people. (cheating, racism, r*pe, and at some point even pe*ophi*ia)
2) Plot is basically non-existent
3) You need to have extremely good knowledge about America in the 1940s and 1950s to understand how some things might have worked or are possible; the same goes for knowledge on certain American cities where they travel a few times (i.e. Denver, San Francisco, New York...), so you can understand which parts of those cities were poor, industrial, fancy, etc.
4) Writing was lazy at some point, so it seems like you can never finish reading one page even tho it says basically nothing

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

Content Warnings

sponberry's review against another edition

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inspiring medium-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

2.5

There were parts of this book I enjoyed, in a madcap Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas kind of way, but to be honest this book is less put together than anything Hunter S Thompson would write. There are many places where the book doesn’t flow at all, and you have to slog through, unaided by Kerouac’s unedited slang style of prose.
I understand the significance of the beat movement and this book’s bearing upon it, but as a straight, white man in late 1940s America, the author succeeds only in upturning the status quo for himself and others like him, whilst firmly reinforcing it for literally every other marginalised group he encounters, including gay folks, women, black and indigenous people. What is the value of a movement that seeks to open up new ways of living if it entrenches inequalities in search of something as frivolous as fun?
I think this book is seriously overrated, even as a story it’s in dire need of some additional editing. However, I’m interested to read other books by the beat generation (I’ve read and loved some Patti Smith) and this did give a window into that era.

Content Warnings

animar1a's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging inspiring lighthearted reflective slow-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

3.0

I picked up this book because I knew Kerouac was one of Bob Dylan’s influences, and beat writers and poets have been catching my attention recently. I wouldn’t say On the Road was a disappointment, but it also didn’t live up to my expectations. I didn’t enjoy the ‘stream of consciousness’ writing style or the abhorrent racism, misogyny and pedophelia; but the plot (or lack thereof) was actually really compelling. I don’t think the passage of time was coherent whatsoever, with some parts of the book being drawn out and pointless to the character arc, and others being beautifully written but much too short, (specifically their time spent in Mexico and the ending of the novel). On the Road is definitely inspiring but deeply flawed. anyways I’m not feeling desperate to read any more of Kerouac’s novels, but I probably will in the future.

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