Saturday, November 7, 2009

The One with the Review of "On the Road"

Another belated review here...trying to get caught-up...
I didn't enjoy this book as much as "Brave New World"...I can't imagine ever reading it again...but it's a classic, and now I've read it!  Just a very abstract novel with not much of a point, as far as I'm concerned....some good writing dispersed throughout...a lot of narrative about what he calls "the beat generation"...here are a few quotes I enjoyed...

  • "...and I shambled after as I've been doing all my life after people who interest me, because the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes 'Awww!'"  Chapter 1, Pages 5 &6
  • "I was halfway across America, at the dividing line between the East of my youth and the West of my future, and maybe that's why it happened right there and then, that strange red afternoon." Chapter 3, Page 15
  •  "A pain stabbed my heart, as it did every time I saw a girl I loved who was going the opposite direction in this too-big world."  Chapter 12, Page 81
  • "Just about that time a strange thing began to haunt me.  It was this:  I had forgotten something.  There was a decision that I was about to make before Dean showed up, and now it was driven clear out of my mind but still hung on the tip of my mind's tongue.  I kept snapping my fingers, trying to remember it.  I even mentioned it.  And I couldn't even tell if it was a real decision or just a thought I had forgotten.  It haunted and flabbergasted me, made me sad.  It had to do somewhat with the Shrouded Traveler...We pondered it.  I proposed it was myself,  wearing a shroud.  That wasn't it.  Something, someone, some spirit was pursuing all of us across the desert of life and was bound to catch us before we reached heaven.  Naturally, now that I look back on it, this is only death; death will overtake us before heaven.  The one thing that we yearn for in our living days, that makes us sign and groan and undergo sweet nauseas of all kinds, is the remembrance of some lost bliss that was probably experienced in the womb and can only be reproduced (though we hate to admit it) in death."  Chapter Four of Part Two, Page 124
  • "Every now and then a clear harmonic cry gave new suggestions of a tune that would someday be the only tune in the world and would raise men's souls to joy."  Chapter 10 of Part Three, Page 242 
It's interesting that after flipping through the book and re-reading everything I underlined and typing-out above my favorite lines...I do have a greater appreciation for the novel...there really is some great writing in this book...I just still don't necessarily appreciate the intent or overall theme of the book....I understand why it's a classic though...trying to get into "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer now is painstaking!!! 

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