but I also think, other than your stereotypical 16-year-old white boy getting into books, everyone approaches it the same way: expecting some kind of monumental achievement.
I'm glad I had the experiences with it that I did. read it at 16, of course... read it again in college. and then just read it again two years back in my early 30s. lots of perspective... I mean, the hero (Dean) is a loser. leaves women and babies all over the country and takes no responsibility... and pouts and whines when anybody implies that he should do so.
The "revolutionary" aspect is just a frank look at drugs and sex and partying -- and, really, being uninclined (or unable) to partake in American capitalism. but sure, somebody like Henry Miller was already in this headspace. in the end, the Beats were "cool" and even a little multifaceted (Kerouac himself sums this up well: an intellectual, an athlete, a good-looking guy).
But hey, despite all this, I really enjoyed reading On The Road again when I did... kind of a rare occasion when what I was getting out of it was almost a notion of my own growth and maturity. And I think Kerouac is a nice writer. it's not sharpened prose, but there's a great flow to it... I think the final road trip of the book down to Mexico is remarkably well done... great pacing, a hallucinatory quality.
I've only ever read Dharma Bums (which I thought was great at the age of around 22) by Kerouac, and I can see coming to more of an understanding of his work as a whole by digging into a few more of his. What struck me about Dharma Bums was, again, an unwillingness to join the regular world... living at his sister's house for awhile and hanging out in the woods, getting nothing done, until the husband kicks him out. I can relate to this kind of thing! that's sort of the underlying theme of Kerouac's stuff, I think: there's times when the party is not happening and you have to figure out what you can make of yourself -- in the end, "Sal Paradise" could not do this.
Anyway, despite all the critical retconning, which is valid, I still think Kerouac (and some of the other beats material) is worth digging into, even if you're completely outside of the stereotypical target audience (the impressionable young white kid getting into literature).
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