Book # 12 - On the Road by Jack Kerouac

Of all the books on the list that I had previously read, On the Road was probably the one that I wanted to reread the least. I read it maybe fifteen years ago and I wasn't that impressed then. On a second reading my opinion hasn't changed that much. Overall it is well written and mildly entertaining and I can see how it tapped into a certain feeling back in the fifties but it isn't something I'd call an all time classic. Some qualms I have with it... first Dean Moriarty isn't the greatest character to be around. Even on the second reading I quickly grew tired of him and his destructive ways. Next, the narrator doesn't exude that much personality... I still don't get why he always felt the urge to get away and travel. He just gives into Dean way too much. Also, for a relatively short book it just feels so long... the whole book is just one thing after another without much thought given to the narrator's feelings. There's one chapter that's maybe 15-20 pages in which the author falls in love while in California that has enough material for an entire book... but afterwards he just moves on and barely thinks about that incident. I guess I just find the book a bit frustrating and overrated. I'll give it a B. Also it mentions Of Mice and Men.