Is it worth finishing this book?

Sorry I meant "is this book worth finishing?"

>>7537227
absolutely not. pure wankery from start to finish

>>7537245
That's my impression so far. It just seems like "I am so cool, hip and young because I am eager for the zest of life, but now I am cool in an experienced and world-weary way because I am looking off into the distance into the American night - oh the pity of it all!"

>>7537238
why wouldn't it be? It own't kill you to finish a book, but if you aren't enjoying it then don't read it.

>>7537271
If we are to assume that Sal Paradise is looking for a sincere, authentic experience then it would make sense for him to be speaking this way, right? He's trying to capture the experience of the way of life that was so different from how everyone else was living at the time. But, in trying to talk about his life at such a young age, he comes off as a bit arrogant and prone to embellish.

When I read Kerouac though I don't really get that arrogance (all the time). He seems really sincere that he is relaying how he sees the world, but also a little self aware that he is giving his own limited view.

>>7537311
Yeah I was wondering if earnestness was part of the "character" or the "writing itself" because it just seems like between every sentence he's got to gaze wistfully off into the distance and think about the fate of America. Maybe its almost like a self-parody because of the fact the Sal is a writer himself. It's ... hard to tell.

>>7537405
Yeah, it's difficult to separate the character of Sal from the Kerouac the writer. Personally, I don't think you can. The story is told through the eyes of Sal Paradise, we don't really see stuff unless Sal is there. Furthermore, the book is biographical, so I think Kerouac is writing himself as he saw himself acting.

>>7537471
It reminds me a little bit of Nick and F. Scott Fitzgerald in the Great Gatsby, but in that case it was quite clear that Nick was a romanticizing writer and there were "clues" that even he, the character himself was self-aware. Can the same be said for Sal?

>>7537584
I'd like to think that there is some self-awareness to Sal, but I don't think it's anything like Nick in the Great Gatsby. I think Sal is self-aware in spite of his self awareness, like he's saying "I know this appears arrogant, but this is how things really are dammit!" Sal believes that If he was to speak without over embellishing everything then he would be lying.

>>7538602
I'll follow up to this by saying I could be too charitable here. Sal paradise could be as naive and stupid as he often appears to be.

I believe one of the biggest strenghts Kerouac has is how he evolves through his work. Even if you're not willing to invest the time to read all his bibliography, just reading OTR or DB and then following it with Big Sur expands a lot the content of each individual book. As you keep reading him you learn to notice the moments he's lying to himself and when he actually believes something idiotic, when he changes his mind or when he doubles his believes when writing his notes.
He's actually a very systematic writer, and there are more levels to his sincerity than come from his internal filtering and revisioning of notes.

>>7537227
Hunter S Thompson was not a fan of Kerouac as an author. Take that as you will

>>7537584
Nick is similar to Scott Fitzgerald, but you're missing out on a ton if you assume they're interchangeable.

File: kerouac-american-football-copy.jpg (157KB, 500x365px) Image search: [Google]

157KB, 500x365px

>>7537227
That line is fine. Are you some sort of turboslut who gets triggered by people suggesting that sex isn't the be-all-end-all of experience and maybe shouldn't be a high priority when evaluating the world and yourself? Because that's Kerouac's point in that passage.

P.S. I don't enjoy reading Kerouac but the beats are very influential and On The Road is must-read canon for that reason alone. Most professors I know dislike it but acknowledge Kerouac's importance.

>>7538855
HST is always right.
Always.

>>7538884
The point was that sex should be all special and sincere and vulnerable instead of about feigning "experience" or "worldliness" no? The passage just before this Sal said he always asks girls "what do you want out of life" and was disappointed when Rita yawned.

"I don't enjoy reading Kerouac but the beats are very influential and On The Road is must-read canon for that reason alone. Most professors I know dislike it but acknowledge Kerouac's importance."

That's terrible. What would the beats themselves think about people reading things they don't like because they are considered by other people to be "important"?

>>7539210
Yeah, sex isn't a high priority for its own sake (or so Sal claims), but connecting with people is, hence the soul-searching questions.

Who cares what the beats think about what you read? They were just artists in a time and place together. If you care at all about scholarship and American literature you'll read them, and if you don't then you have little reason to read them if they don't interest you.

>>7539233
My point is that reading a book imploring you to pursue an "authentic" and "sincere" lifestyle all the while disliking it but continuing to read it for artificial purposes like its status and reputation is silly and means that you've only gained a superficial understanding at best, - scholarship, American literature, and any other of that kind of trivial nonsense notwithstanding.

>>7539298
>On The Road implores you to pursue an "authentic and sincere" lifestyle
You're not very perceptive.

Even if On The Road was meant to convey such a message, people disagree with books and their authors all the time. That's hardly a big-picture statement about reader, author or work.

>>7539343
I'm not saying that that is the entirety of its message, I'm saying that reading purely for "academic" purposes is inauthentic, especially with a novel that is, to be sure, concerned with authenticity. And people do disagree with books, but they don't necessarily have to play the charade of "acknowledging" them for the sake of appearances and "thoroughness" and "being cultured" etc. If you didn't learn anything meaningful from the book why pretend to be learned about it?

>>7539393
I guess it must be fun or something

>>7539393
Putting the last 60 years of American fiction into perspective is compelling and fun, yes. There's nothing inauthentic about working a little to understand things. Is it inauthentic to labor at changing your oil because you like to drive a well-maintained car?

>>7539393
I can understand something completely whilst being utterly inauthentic. Is that so hard a task?