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The Dharma Bums

By Jack Kerouac

(65)

| Paperback | 9780140042528

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Book Description

Two ebullient young men are engaged in a passionate search for dharma, or truth. Their major adventure is the pursuit of the Zen way, which takes them climbing into the high Sierras to seek the lesson of solitude, a lesson that has a hard time surviving their forays into the pagan groves of San FranContinue

Two ebullient young men are engaged in a passionate search for dharma, or truth. Their major adventure is the pursuit of the Zen way, which takes them climbing into the high Sierras to seek the lesson of solitude, a lesson that has a hard time surviving their forays into the pagan groves of San Francisco's Bohemia with its marathon wine-drinking bouts, poetry jam sessions, experiments in "yabyum," and similar nonascetic pastimes.

This autobiographical novel appeared just a year after the author's explosive On the Road put the Beat generation on the literary map and Kerouac on the best-seller lists. The same expansiveness, humor, and contagious zest for life that sparked the earlier novel ignites this one.

Critics

  • Book review: Jack Kerouac's *The Dharma Bums: 50th Anniversary Edition*

    The Dharma Bums: 50th Anniversary Edition Jack Kerouac Viking Hardcover 224 pages September 2008 Lyrical, moving, poetic, more real than real, The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac is almost a memoir, detailing his growth and experiences as a Buddhist and ... (read full critics)

    curledup published on Tue, 7 Sep 2010

4 Reviews

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  • 1 person find this helpful

    i found it in one of my travels. i was in a hostel in Ireland, and someone left it; as it's my Kerouac's favorite book, and i read it three times or more in italian, i took it and started reading it in english.
    the back cover is missing, the pages have browned, but it's still a pleasant book an ... (continue)

    i found it in one of my travels. i was in a hostel in Ireland, and someone left it; as it's my Kerouac's favorite book, and i read it three times or more in italian, i took it and started reading it in english.
    the back cover is missing, the pages have browned, but it's still a pleasant book and it led me to service as a volunteer fire sentinel years ago!

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    Ale- said on Jul 6, 2007 | Add your feedback

  • Kerouac <I>Dharma Bums</I>

    I thought this was very enjoyable. I always feel a bit trepidations reading books about Buddhism by westerners, but Kerouac had won me over by referring to Zen Buddhism as Chan in <I>Big Sur</I> so thought I’d read this to see what it was like ... (continue)

    Kerouac <I>Dharma Bums</I>

    I thought this was very enjoyable. I always feel a bit trepidations reading books about Buddhism by westerners, but Kerouac had won me over by referring to Zen Buddhism as Chan in <I>Big Sur</I> so thought I’d read this to see what it was like. Love of nature and hiking are probably not my favourite topics for a book, but still I found this enjoyable. I did go and find the Chinese poet they were reading, and enjoyed reading his poems. There were interesting contrasts between the isolation of the mountains and the crazy parties at their friends. It was interesting to see that his friend lecture him about his alcohol intake, and then forgive him. It felt very odd to have him visit Seattle and know the area he was talking about. The whole ending felt rather dream like and unreal. But still an enjoyable book.

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    Robot-mel said on Feb 16, 2008 | Add your feedback

  • Possibly his best book, although the sequel "Desolation Angels" may be my favorite.

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    darkwalker said on Jan 24, 2008 | Add your feedback

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9780140042528 Paperback $15.00 $12.82 bn.com
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