Jack Kerouac, On the Road

Author: Jack Kerouac Title: On the Road Place: London Publisher: Penguin Books Date: 1972 Description: 290p, 18cm, paperback ISBN: 0140274154

Why did I read this book?

I had been given a box-set of Penguin Classics and felt that I ought to read the ones I hadn't already read. See also: Françoise Sagan, Bonjour Tristesse. My holiday in Switzerland at Easter provided a perfect opportunity to get round to reading lots of long-deferred books; see also: Angela Carter, The Infernal Desire Machines of Dr Hoffman; Aldous Huxley, Point Counter Point; Mervyn Peake, Titus Groan; Tom Standage, The Victorian Internet. Oh, and, of course, it's a timeless classic for disaffected youth. Cult-orooni.

What's on the scrap of paper tucked inside the cover?

"What's your road, man? - holyboy road, madman road, rainbow road, guppy road, any road. It's an anywhere road for anybody anyhow." (p 237)

"I was having a wonderful time and the whole world opened up before me because I had no dreams." (p 243)

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