Big Sur

4 Reviews

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  I have to say I REALLY LOVED this book. The writing style was just as amazing as On the Road but I found the subject matter more interesting. I think this was largely due to the transformation Kerouac had gone through and was much more tragic. I think the shorter time period of the book, barely more ... (continue)

  I have to say I REALLY LOVED this book. The writing style was just as amazing as On the Road but I found the subject matter more interesting. I think this was largely due to the transformation Kerouac had gone through and was much more tragic. I think the shorter time period of the book, barely more than a month, suited his style well as he was able to go into much more depth. The basic story was about an alcoholic 3 week bender he had after his cat died. It was pretty horrific, and I have to say ended up being much more terrifying than anything in the opium eater. I'd VERY highly recommend it. I shall have to keep reading things by him.

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  Robot-mel said on Jan 14, 2008 | Add your feedback

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  Mixed feelings on "Big Sur".

  I know Kerouac is considered to be a great figure in American literature and all that but, sorry, whenever I read his books I cannot avoid but to feel that he is overrated. Sure, "Big Sur", like so many of his other books, has some good moments. There are times when he truly takes off and manages ... (continue)

  I know Kerouac is considered to be a great figure in American literature and all that but, sorry, whenever I read his books I cannot avoid but to feel that he is overrated. Sure, "Big Sur", like so many of his other books, has some good moments. There are times when he truly takes off and manages to fly close to the stars... but, alas, it usually doesn't last long. Just a few sentences, a paragraph at the most.

  When reading Kerouac's books, I cannot avoid the annoying feeling that I'm reading someone who is so utterly full of himself that he considers each and every little moment of his life of great importance. Something that should definitely be recorded on a novel and passed to posterity as a priceless legacy. Thus, we have to pretend that even the paranoiac obsessions of a drunken bum are somehow direct expression of some sort of liberating satori.

  But what to say about his style? Was it innovative? I suppose so. Yeah, his prose is definitely different. It has a style that is peculiar to him (and other beatniks). Sure. And what? The real question is: does it work? Does it truly help express what is going on? And the fact is that I'm not so sure of the answer. Yes, it does help express certain events (the most hectic, crazy experiences), but at the price of exaggerating every other personal event (the not-so-hectic, the more down-to-earth... in other words, the normal experiences, the ones that we all have most of the time) to the point of becoming merely cartoonish.

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  Jesus Ortega Segura said on Oct 18, 2011 | Add your feedback

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  A masterpiece, I absolutely loved it: a life I wouldn't like to live, but I'm happy somebody did.

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  michele said on Apr 1, 2009 | Add your feedback

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  What happens when you're 40 and all the young hipsters come looking for the guy who wrote "On The Road"? A great book.

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  darkwalker said on Jan 24, 2008 | Add your feedback

Book Details

• Rating:
  (41)
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• English Books
• Paperback 256 Pages
• Edition: Reprint
• ISBN-10: 0140168125
• ISBN-13: 9780140168129
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
• Pub date: Jun 01, 1992
• Dimensions: 1290 mm x 839 mm x 65 mm Just how big is that?
• Also available as: Mass Market Paperback, Audio CD and Audio Cassette
• In other languages: other languages Livres Français, Deutsche Bücher, Libros en Español, Livros em Português, Libri Italiani

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