A review by laread
The Haunted Life: and Other Writings by Jack Kerouac

3.0

This posthumous release of a long-lost manuscript was satisfying to this reader who's read plenty of Beat writing. The story is sweet and allegorical to Jack's own life. I was disappointed to learn of some of his conclusions as written in his notes, such as his disdain for cities, for Burroughs, and for those who take direct action, indeed! (I think that the latter is noble when enacted out of compassion, not seeking self-punishment, as Kerouac suggests.) Anyway, it's a slice of life in America as affected by war times and family struggles and, bien sur, intellectual philosophizing.