Kerouac's dour and tired book stands as a fitting book-end to the man's career. Ferlinghetti claims not to like it, but it's like the last stand of a bruised and tired fighter. ( )

The shiftless life of Jack (Duluoz). I had forgotten what this novel is about, so I had to read the blurb. ( )

I got really in to Kerouac when I was 14. On the Road was the first Kerouac book I ever read, but this one remains my favorite. A scene that has always stuck with me was when Billie goes to dig a hole for the garbage and digs it so it would be the perfect grave to fit the kid with them. I've never been able to get that image out of my head. What I also loved is seeing the absolute destruction of Kerouac. In the beginning he talks about young kids coming to his mother's home trying to get him to take a road trip with them. But he wants them to know that On the Road was years ago, he's no longer that man. I love no story more than the one where the character is completely and totally beaten down. Depressing that he's not just a character. ( )

More depressing narative of Kerouac, first book I read of Kerouac and I probably should've read "on the road" first to give me a frame of reference. ( )

Big Sur by Jack Kerouac (1992)