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Book Review – Son of Kerouac, Woodstock and God: A Memoir by James Crockett

Denise Enck

Son of Kerouac, Woodstock and God / James Crockett / 978-148125581 / 261 pages

Empty Mirror received a review copy of this book.

Son of Kerouac, Woodstock and GodAs a young man about to embark upon a summer-long hitchhiking trip through the western United States in the mid-1970s, James Crockett was given a second-hand copy of Jack Kerouac’s autobiographical novel, On the Road – and later, Kerouac books which provided companionship and enlightenment on the journey.

This novelistic memoir, based upon journals kept during the trip, is something like a personal On the Road, set in the late 1970s.

And as Kerouac did in his books chronicling the Duluoz legend, Crockett has given aliases to all the characters – including himself – to protect their privacy. His own alias is Peter.

And Peter, like Kerouac and his compatriots, had a destination and along the way discovered something about himself.

Crockett’s writing pulls the reader right into his world and its people: 1970s Berkeley, friends, record stores, bars, truck drivers, long stretches of highway, national parks and natural wonders, beautiful women, and family relationships. There are rock festivals, and lots of music.

The pages are filled with the reverberations of the Beat Generation, and of the 1960s turmoil and culture, but also with the author’s personal turmoil. Peter is newly independent, and trying to figure out how to make a living – and to live a life that makes sense. The events of his hitch-hiking trip, and thereafter bring him to important realizations about the life he wants to lead.

The religious aspect of this book isn’t overwhelming – and for non-religious readers, won’t likely be off-putting. But it is at the heart of things. Raised a devout Catholic, Peter tries to reconcile how to live a rewarding adult life in the 1970s, which was filled with all the freedoms and pleasures that the 1960s made possible, while still remaining true to his own deeply-held values and beliefs.

Crockett’s engaging, novelistic writing pulls the reader along as he traverses the West Coast, to the heartland and back.

Readers who enjoy Kerouac and the Beats, want a look back at life in the 1960s or 1970s, or just want a great summer read will certainly enjoy Son of Kerouac, Woodstock, and God.
 

Son of Kerouac, Woodstock, and God is available at Amazon.
James Crockett’s website is SonOfKerouac.com.
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Denise Enck

Denise is Empty Mirror's founder and editor. She's edited several other literary magazines and small-press publications since the 1990s. When not at Empty Mirror, you can probably find her reading or writing -- or out exploring the back roads and beaches of Washington State.

Author: Denise Enck Tags: Beat Generation, book reviews, counterculture, iu, Jack Kerouac, memoir Category: Book Reviews June 26, 2013

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Established in 2000 and edited by Denise Enck, Empty Mirror is an online literary magazine that publishes new work each Friday.

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