"I first met Dean not long after my wife and I split up. I had gotten over a serious illness that I won't bother to talk about, except that it had something to do with the miserably weary split-up … [Read more...]
The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac, reviewed by Eric D. Lehman
I encountered The Dharma Bums for the first time in college, on a classmate's shelf. She gushed about the book, but I was more interested in her roommate and didn't pay enough attention. Many … [Read more...]
Big Sur by Jack Kerouac
Big Sur is often ignored by critics and Kerouac fans alike. We all want the freedom of On the Road, the craziness of The Dharma Bums — the celebration of the Beat lifestyle. We want young Jack … [Read more...]
Book Review — Tristessa by Jack Kerouac
Jack Kerouac is primarily lauded for his keen understanding of male friendship. The female characters of On the Road or The Dharma Bums never really achieve the reader's interest the way the males … [Read more...]
Book Review — Visions of Cody by Jack Kerouac
Like a weird, mutated ogre muttering to himself by the roadside, Jack Kerouac's Visions of Cody stands apart. As the author states in his short introduction, "I wanted a vertical metaphysical study … [Read more...]
Book Review — Vanity of Duluoz by Jack Kerouac
When Vanity of Duluoz: An Adventurous Education, 1935-46 was written in 1967, an overweight and severely alcoholic Jack Kerouac had only two years to live. Chronicling the years just before his … [Read more...]
Dr. Sax by Jack Kerouac, reviewed by Eric D. Lehman
Dr. Sax is one of Jack Kerouac's most troubling books for readers, peering behind the curtain of his childhood rather than exploring those later years of Beats and bodhisattvas. Nevertheless, it … [Read more...]