The Dharma Bums, by Jack Kerouac

The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ever since originally reading On the Road by Jack Kerouac, I knew I'd have to follow up with Kerouac's The Dharma Bums. I'd read the first couple of pages several times, then put the book back on the shelf. This time, I read all the way through.

As with On the Road, Dharma is loosely based on Kerouac and shows others he knew. The narrator, Ray Smith, is based on Kerouac, while Japhy Ryder (the other main character) is based on Gary Snyder, who was instrumental is steering Kerouac towards Buddhism. There's one point when Smith and Ryder go to a poetry ready where Alvah Goldbook (based on Allen Ginsburg) reads his poem "Wail." (Yes, that is referrencing Ginsburg's "Howl.")

The book follows Smith and Ryder as they seek Truth, from San Francisco to mountain climbing in the High Sierras, keeping the reader thoroughly engaged.

In some ways, The Dharma Bums reminds me of On the Road: a lot of traveling, pages of exceedingly long paragraphs, some several pages long (sort-of the anti-Ernest Hemingway's short, concise writing); the writing occasionally leaving me a little ambivalent (Do I love it? Do I want to put it down before finishing?). But in the end, as with On the Road, I did finish The Dharma Bums.

The punchline is that if you're looking for an interesting book highlighting part of the 1950s, Jack Kerouac's The Dharma Bums just may be it, especially after reading On the Road.

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On the Road, by Jack Kerouac

On the Road by Jack Kerouac
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Like many others, I've had a list of books that I've meant to read but never quite got around to. One or two from the list, when I got around to reading them, left me wondering what the big deal is, while others left me wondering what took me so long to read.

Then there are those that leave us feeling so ambivalent throughout the reading that we end up giving it a second reading just so we can decide. That is how I felt when starting On the Road by Jack Kerouac. It was one of those classics that many people talk about ("Have you read...? No? Really, you should...") while not having actually read. I'd picked up a copy of it from a now-closed bookstore near the University of South Florida St. Petersburg when they were promoting books by many of the Beat writers, especially Kerouac.

Note: Jack Kerouac died in St. Petersburg's St. Anthony's Hospital in 1969. His name, address and phone number remained in the St. Petersburg phone book for quite a few years afterwards. He supposedly frequented several bars while in St. Pete, while his ghost is said to have visited Haslam's Bookstore before it closed.

The first few paragraphs very nearly turned me off. I had tried reading it when I first bought the book, but those first couple of paragraphs were what caused me to put it down. They were wordy, bordering on almost flowery. If Ernest Hemingway was known for short, concise sentences, much of On the Road seemed the opposite in its wordiness. While Kerouac did rein this in a bit after the first few paragraphs/pages, he never quite moves completely away from it.

However, the further I got in the book, the more engaging it became. It is easy to imagine being carefree and on the road, going from place to place. Sal Paradise (based on Kerouac) meets Dean Moriarty (based on Neal Cassady), someone he has heard about, at the beginning of the book. They are soon criss-crossing the country separately, meeting up in different parts of the country, just missing each other in other parts. The one thing Sal hears numerous times is that others are not as fond of Dean as Sal is. While Sal finally sees that others might be right about Dean, he still defends him. By the end of the book, we find Sal wandering off after sending Dean on his way. But he mentions occasionally thinking about Dean Moriarty.

By the end of the book, I had to admit: This book deserves to be considered a classic, and deserves to be read. If you haven't read Jack Kerouac's On the Road, what are you waiting for?

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On The Road, by Jack Kerouac

We all have a list of books that we have meant to read but have never quite gotten around to. Some of them finally make their way into our hands and we start reading. Most of us will think What's the big deal about this book? It's garbage! about some of the classics, while others fall into the I can't believe I waited this long to read it! category.

Then there are others that leave us feeling so ambivalent throughout the reading that we end up wanting to give it a second reading just so we can decide. That is how I felt when starting On The Road, by Jack Kerouac. It was one of those classics that many people talk about ("Have you read...? No? Really, you should...") while not having actually read. I'd picked up a copy of it from a now-closed bookstore near the University of South Florida St. Petersburg when they were promoting books by many of the Beat writers, especially Kerouac.

Note: Jack Kerouac died in St. Petersburg's St. Anthony's Hospital in 1969. His name, address and phone number remained in the St. Petersburg phone book for quite a few years afterwards. He is said to have frequented several bars while in St. Pete.

The first few paragraphs very nearly turned me off. I had tried reading it when I first bought the book, but those first couple of paragraphs were what caused me to put it down. They were wordy, bordering on almost flowery. If Ernest Hemingway was known for short, concise sentences, much of Kerouac's On The Road seemed the opposite in its wordiness. While Kerouac did rein this in a bit after the first few paragraphs/pages, he never quite moves completely away from it.

The further I got in the book, the more engaging it became. It is easy to imagine being carefree and on the road, going from place to place. Sal Paradise (based on Kerouac) meets Dean Moriarty (based on Neal Cassady), someone he has heard about, at the beginning of the book. They are soon criss-crossing the country separately, meeting up in different parts of the country, just missing each other in other parts. The one thing Sal hears numerous times is that others are not as fond of Dean as Sal is. While Sal finally sees that others might be right about Dean, he still defends him. By the end of the book, we find Sal wandering off after sending Dean on his way. But he mentions occasionally thinking about Dean Moriarty.

By the end of the book, I had to admit: This book deserves to be considered a classic, and deserves to be read. If you haven't read it, what are you waiting for?