Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - On the Road

Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

21 reviews

noahaimelire's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny inspiring sad tense slow-paced

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

3.25

The book is divided into five parts. I'd recommend reading the first part and finishing there. I found Part 1 interesting, entertaining, and thought-provoking. It explored themes such as adventure, growing up (a little), and the American Dream, as well as just defined a great perspective on the American identity and exposed you to a lot of the country you may not be familiar with. Parts 2-4 almost feel like the same story over and over again. Some of the main characters are honestly annoying. And while I respect their story holistically, it can be frustrating to get through. There were also MANY, MANY characters, and they all sort of blend together to the point where honestly I didnt make much sense of who the narrator was actually referring to by the end of the book. It really is an interesting book and I would certainly reccomend the first part. Continue reading on at your own peril.

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caseylovett's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

2.5

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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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_quinnsreads's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

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

5.0

Reading this book made me feel like I've traveled to the entire America. I quite liked Dean although he's supposed to be the least likable character in the story. Also the adventure, the fun stuff and Kerouac's portrayal of romance and pop culture while living in the 1950's was ironically nostalgic for me while I was reading it. I hope to read more of Kerouac's wonderful works.

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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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