Why Kerouac Matters by John Leland
The Lessons of On The Road (They're Not What You Think)
First edition
Legions of youth have taken On the Road as a rebellion manifesto. This book offers a new take on Kerouac's famous novel overturning misconceptions and making clear themes Kerouac was imparting chiefly the search for revelation.
Why Kerouac Matters by John Leland
Format: First trade paperback edition
Condition: Very good plus, light edge and corner wear.
Product dimensions: n/a
Publishing Info: Penguin, New York, 2008
Language: English
ISBN - 13: 9780143114376
Legions of youthful Americans have taken On the Road as a manifesto for rebellion and an inspiration to hit the road. But there is much more to the book than that. In Why Kerouac Matters, John Leland embarks on a wry, insightful, and playful discussion of the novel, arguing that it still matters because it lays out an alternative road map to growing up. Along the way, Leland overturns many misconceptions about On the Road as he examines the lessons that Kerouac's alter ego, Sal Paradise, absorbs and dispenses on his novelistic journey to manhood, and how those lessons, about work and money, love and sex, art and holiness, still reverberate today.He shows how On the Road is a primer for male friendship and the cultivation of traditional family values, and contends that the stereotype of the two wild and crazy guys obscures the novel's core themes of the search for atonement, redemption, and divine revelation. Why Kerouac Matters offers a new take on Kerouac's famous novel, overturning many misconceptions about it and making clear the themes Kerouac was trying to impart.
JackKerouac.com, a site for scholars and students of Keouac
Interview excerpt with Kerouac from genreworks
Read Beat on shop books
