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Book Review of On the Road

On the Road
On the Road
Author: Jack Kerouac
Genre: Literature & Fiction
Book Type: Paperback
Helpful Score: 4


It's not so much that I despised this book - and I did. It's not totally that the characters were unworthy of taking time to think about them - and they were. And it's not so much that the writing style was outdated before it ever appeared with limited vocabulary and overuse of the same-old-adjectives - and it was-was-was. It's more that after finishing it, while praying for Dean's demise in a fiery car crash starting on page 104, I knew my time had been wasted by a con. The book is not even an elaborate con. It's a lazy con about people who like to get drunk and drive around. I thought if I heard the word 'mad' or 'gone' or any of the other stylish and meaningless so-called descriptives one more time I'd get in the car and drive to, oh wherever, drinking and stealing on the way like our heroes. Sadly, I can understand how this became a classic, and a lifestyle. What I can't understand is why I wasted my time.