Big sur jack kerouac pdf

A key difference in this book compared to his others, Jack, creates his alter-ego as a successful author, well known to the public. He is coping with the stress of fame as he is trying to heal up his alcoholism. This book is about alcoholism. He is surrounded by friends who care for him, enable him, chastise him. Jack shows you his paranoia, his nightmares, delusions, his self-hatred and envy of friends who "pull it of". Jack harbors a lot of unfulfilled desire to be a "family man" the "pater familiias" or as he often states "the He-Man" but he knows he can't live that dream because of alcohol.

We get to see Jack in solitude at the cabin in Big Sur , in San Francisco, in domestic scenes with friends' families. He reflects on times past, especially with Neal Cassady and Neal's wife. There is a sense of loss in this novel. The writing is very playful, rambling and tangential. Rarely profound. But the presentation of Jack as he is, warts and all, famous and dying from alcohol addiction, it makes for an amazing read: Big Sur is not the beginning of the end of Jack, it is nearly the last act.

It's all fun and games till it ain't, this is the ain't part, the "Duluoz" crack-up novel installment set pinballing from San Francisco to Big Sur back an forth and peopled by the usual suspects of Beat Gen. Booze will kill you eventually and it did for Kerouac, but not before he'd amassed a respectable oeuvre of personal nov It's all fun and games till it ain't, this is the ain't part, the "Duluoz" crack-up novel installment set pinballing from San Francisco to Big Sur back an forth and peopled by the usual suspects of Beat Gen.

Booze will kill you eventually and it did for Kerouac, but not before he'd amassed a respectable oeuvre of personal novels all electroning around the nucleus of "On The Road" like sentinels guarding the ju ju so the bop won't flop an pinwheel off into the gawping maw of samsara again annagain. But really it was never about nirvana now wassit?

Come home to God and Mother like a good boy, Jack, it was all just a dream. Dec 31, Jon Nakapalau rated it it was amazing Shelves: favorites , religion , classics. A world weary Kerouac seeks a physical and spiritual retreat I so wish he would have found both and stayed with us a little longer. May 13, Jeff rated it it was amazing Shelves: favorites , the-west , cool. No one, and I mean no one, writes alcoholic horror better than Jack.

This book is powerful for those of us who have fought the demon. Jack, of course, succumbed to it and this savagely beautiful work was simply a precursor. A great book about the demons of Jack Kerouac. Having personally read some of his books, especially the Dharma Bums, If found this book to very interesting, and like nothing else I had read.

As we know now, he really looked at himself as more of an author than A great book about the demons of Jack Kerouac. As we know now, he really looked at himself as more of an author than a leader of the beatniks and would rather had people read his books than idolize him as the paragon of beatnik ways…ala drinking, womanizing, traveling and partying.

Throughout the book he chastises himself for the way he has lived. He also drinks heavily which weighs heavy on his psyche and outlook on life. I unique and introspective self-study by a man who finds himself in turmoil from living his life in excess. Jul 14, Rebecca Hillebrand rated it it was amazing. Big Sur is the second Jack Kerouac work that I've committed myself to reading.

The first was On The Road, which I left about a third of the way in. I was unable to connect to it at the time. I feel that reading Big Sur at this specific time in my life was an excellent choice being that many of the topics Kerouac touches on in this work are the same as those I've been mentally wrestling with in the past several months, i.

Kerouac's writing style, stream of conscious, was thought provoking. It kept my full attention and led me to pause at the end of sentences, paragraphs, pages or chapters to contemplate what he was attempting to convey and to relate it to my own life.

It's been a few days since I've finished the book and I still find my own thoughts being structured in his writing style.

In a way, it's led me to see my own mind from a different perspective. Big Sur may not be for everyone but I do encourage at least giving it a try. May 24, Jonathan LaPoma rated it it was amazing Shelves: novels , literary-fiction. Jack Kerouac was already one of my favorite authors before I started on Big Sur, but now he's even higher up my list.

But here, those ideals are a li Jack Kerouac was already one of my favorite authors before I started on Big Sur, but now he's even higher up my list. But here, those ideals are a little more mature, and Kerouac is somehow able to make them seem reasonable for example that, perhaps, insanity is as inevitable as death , which is a true testament to his genius.

In Big Sur, however, we see a wiser, more cynical, Kerouac, who's now lived long enough to see many of those youthful dreams and ideals die. Who's already been ground through the fame machine and spit out the other end and is hesitant to do anything to bring more fame on, even if it means denying his need to write.

Who's simply trying to find a place where he can get some much needed peace. At first, he seeks this peace in nature, but when the demons start closing in again, he runs back to the city hoping to find some much needed distraction from the death and insanity he's beginning to see everywhere he looks. But even in the midst of chaotic celebration, he can no longer distract himself from that dark end. He slowly starts losing his mind, and the indifference of the people surrounding him only makes it worse.

Hoping to gain some control, he convinces his friends to return to Big Sur, but there, the nightmare only worsens, as he detaches from the reality he questions whether or not he was ever really a part of, in one paranoiac delusion after the other.

The writing in Big Sur is about as sublime any I've ever read. While he may be "lost," he seems to have a fairly decent idea of where he truly is, and even though he curses his foolish need to write, that need never quite escapes him.

In fact, even after his grand realization at the end, he still goes on to write pages of wonderful words, which I think only further proves that those blessed with creative gifts have no ability to turn them off no matter how they're tortured by them.

This is not an easy book to read. There are no "nice," "clean" story arcs with "likable" characters whatever the hell that means. No, here, readers will find a raw, powerful, gritty, poetic story about a highly flawed man's inability to find solace anywhere he turns and his inevitable break from reality, which is so brilliantly written, it's hard to believe that he could ever come back from it to write such a beautiful book.

Anyone who's ever suffered a nervous breakdown, panic attack, period of drug-induced psychosis, etc Big Sur is easily one of the best books I've ever read and I highly recommend it to anyone seeking a profound and artistic work of literature; however, I'd recommend reading a few of Kerouac's other books before starting on this one so you have a better appreciation for the changes Kerouac has made here as a writer and a person.

Dec 04, Karen rated it really liked it. The most harrowing account of alooholism I have ever read. As a recovering alcoholic myself, I found I could relate to his story, as I can also to Kerouac's life. This was a well written book, some of his quite frankly are not. As he descended into alcoholism he could no longer write with any real coherence, and became an obnoxious fool who was no longer taken seriously anywhere, and was no longer wanted anywhere, not even in his hometown of Lowell, Massachusetts.

The kind hearted and softspok The most harrowing account of alooholism I have ever read. The kind hearted and softspoken writer featured on the Steve Allen show in turned into someone who was drunk all the time, spouting racist comments and radical right wing comments in bars. In fact he is probably the worst alcoholic famous writer we have ever had. That said, this story of his life right after the fame of "On the Road" is vividly portrayed and honest. Brutally honest- the shame, paranoia, and alcoholic delusions and hallucinations are all too real here.

JK never wanted fame and he could not handle it. At the end of the book Kerouac seems to recover, momentarily, for his next adventure. This book was probably his last good one, and it resonated with me and disturbed me, which it should anyone. Kerouac struggles with the knowledge that he is trash as a human, and also trash as a writer.

He tries to get away to one of the most gorgeous locations in North America, but he trashes it up with his trashy tag-along acquaintances. End of the book includes grotesque, obscene hallucinations, child abuse, and an absolutely terrible poem.

Cute and harmless. But he gets bored and resumes his stinking drunk ways. Seems like Jack Kerouac was an easygoing, talented guy. He fell in with quite an inspirational crowd, he used up a ton of energy suppressing homosexual leanings; he struggled with alcoholism.

And meanwhile fame ate away at him. Obviously his publishers would put out any shit he slapped together on paper. Result: Big Sur Christ jesus, Jack Kerouac. You made me sit on an overturned newspaper box on the corner of 14th and 8th at PM on a Sunday night and race to finish your book before my eyes, unglasses'd, lost their focus.

It's not writing. Nor is it typing. In it, Jack Duluoz is stuck in an endless cycle of slugging down cheap wine and drifting from party to adventure to mistake in San Francisco.

He achieves a kind of peaceful salvati Christ jesus, Jack Kerouac. He achieves a kind of peaceful salvation in his buddy's wilderness cabin along the roaring coast of Big Sur, scribbling free verse by the nighttime sea cliffs and chopping wood and feeding a mouse.

But it's the early 60's and his book On The Road has gotten him crowned King Of The Beats; naturally, this does not solve problems as much as it creates them. Dean Moriarty, aka Cody Pomeray, enters the picture, but whereas in OTR Dean was the sparking mainspring that spurred Sal Paradise onward and upward with a little help from his auntie, of course , here he's pushing 40 just like Jack, trying to maintain his family despite his continued foibles and flaws.

Dark, booze-damaged sex and an ever-dominating sense of unease begin to creep into the usual talking jags and uncaring wackiness of the Beats. Never quite unable to outrun the DT's, Jack makes one last trip to Big Sur with his companions, and there, as he puts it, "sees the Cross". My father, who gave me this book on my 21st birthday saying "read this after your first pub crawl" too late describes this as the penultimate book in what could have been Kerouac's great narrative of life, the final volume being his ultimately finding sobriety.

Which, of course, he never did; he died choking on unclotted blood fountaining from a liver too exhausted to save itself. Looking forward to seeing the movie of this; wait a few months and maybe I can double-bill it with the similarly upcoming On The Road movie.

Should be interesting. Aug 21, Joshua Nomen-Mutatio rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: my 15 year old self. Shelves: from-ages-past , fiction. My ratings for several books are based on how I felt about them when I read them. Kerouac is probably a perfect example of this. I loved reading about the melancholy psychological and geographical wanderings of Mr. Audio Software icon An illustration of a 3. Software Images icon An illustration of two photographs.

Images Donate icon An illustration of a heart shape Donate Ellipses icon An illustration of text ellipses. Big Sur Item Preview. EMBED for wordpress. Want more? So just why must we leave the best thing like a book Big Sur? Several of you have a different opinion about book. But one aim this book can give many information for us.

It is absolutely correct. Right now, try to closer with the book. Knowledge or data that you take for that, you are able to give for each other; you are able to share all of these.

Book Big Sur has simple shape but the truth is know: it has great and massive function for you. You can seem the enormous world by open and read a reserve. The first edition of the novel was published in , and was written by Jack Kerouac. The book was published in multiple languages including English, consists of pages and is available in Paperback format. The main characters of this classics, fiction story are ,. The book has been awarded with , and many others. Stine pdf.