Jack Kerouac: Road Novels 1957-1960: On the Road / The Dharma

Jack Kerouac: Road Novels 1957-1960: On the Road / The Dharma Bums / The Subterraneans / Tristessa / Lonesome Traveler / Journal Selections (Library of America)
- Used Book in Good Condition
The raucous, exuberant, often wildly funny account of a journey through America and Mexico, Jack Kerouacâ€™sÂ On the RoadÂ instantly defined a generation on its publication in 1957: it was, in the words of aÂ New York TimesÂ reviewer, â€œthe clearest and most important utterance yet made by the generation Kerouac himself named years ago as â€˜beat.â€™â€ Written in the mode of ecstatic improvisation that Allen Ginsberg described as â€œspontaneous bop prosody,â€ Kerouacâ€™s novel remains electrifying in its thirst for experience and its defiant rebuke of American conformity.

In his portrayal of the fervent relationship between the writer Sal Paradise and his outrageous, exasperating, and inimitable friend Dean Moriarty, Kerouac created one of the great friendships in American literature; and his rendering of the cities and highways and wildernesses that his characters restlessly explore is a hallucinatory travelogue of a nation he both mourns and celebrates. Now, The Library of America collectsÂ On the RoadÂ together with four other autobiographical â€œroad booksâ€ published during a remarkable four-year period.

The Dharma BumsÂ (1958), at once an exploration of Buddhist spirituality and an account of the Bay Area poetry scene, is notable for its thinly veiled portraits of Kerouacâ€™s acquaintances, including Ginsberg, Gary Snyder, and Kenneth Rexroth.Â The SubterraneansÂ (1958) recounts a love affair set amid the bars and bohemian haunts of San Francisco.Â TristessaÂ (1960) is a melancholy novella describing a relationship with a prostitute in Mexico City.Â Lonesome TravelerÂ (1960) collects travel essays that evoke journeys in Mexico and Europe, and concludes with an elegiac lament for the lost world of the American hobo. Also included inÂ Road NovelsÂ are selections from Kerouacâ€™s journal, which provide a fascinating perspective on his early impressions of material eventually incorporated intoÂ On the Road.

LIBRARY OF AMERICAÂ is an independent nonprofit cultural organization founded in 1979 to preserve our nationâ€™s literary heritage by publishing, and keeping permanently in print, Americaâ€™s best and most significant writing. The Library of America series includes more than 300 volumes to date, authoritative editions that average 1,000 pages in length, feature cloth covers, sewn bindings, and ribbon markers, and are printed on premium acid-free paper that will last for centuries.
Country USA
Brand Library of America
Manufacturer Library of America
Binding Hardcover
ItemPartNumber 9781598530124
Color Black
ReleaseDate 2007-09-01
UnitCount 1
EANs 9781598530124

Country	USA
Brand	Library of America
Manufacturer	Library of America
Binding	Hardcover
ItemPartNumber	9781598530124
Color	Black
ReleaseDate	2007-09-01
UnitCount	1
EANs	9781598530124

Jack Kerouac: Road Novels 1957-1960: On the Road / The Dharma Bums / The Subterraneans / Tristessa / Lonesome Traveler / Journal Selections (Library of America)

Customers who purchased this also purchased....