On The Road CD by Jack Kerouac Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of On The Road CD
Book Review: Great performance, great novel
Summary: 5 Stars
Matt Dillon was an excellent choice for this project. I never tire of this book and I have to say Matt reads this as flawlessly as if he were telling his own story from memory.
His performance is subtle as well as steller. Kerouac's absence from hollywood has made him a sort of conversation pitch, because if you don't know Jack you probably don't read very much.
Book Review: Have Keroac, Will Travel
Summary: 5 Stars
A more perfect traveling companion cannot be found than Matt Dillon's reading of the unabridged ON THE ROAD. He captures the passion for movement that energized Keroac and all his learning-to-be-hip friends of the late 1940's. His voices of the main characters were on target. That was crucial to enjoying an audio book where dialogue, as much as narration, drives the story.
The pace of this reading fits beautifully with a trip across town, across the county, across the country. It makes riding in an auto the adventure it once was.
Book Review: It Was Hip To Be "Beat"....I Had A Great Time... Again!... (Audio Edition)
Summary: 5 Stars
This review refers to the audio edition of "On The Road"(Unabridged) by Jack Kerouac....
Jack Kerouac's words and characters come alive in this outstanding read by Matt Dillon. Each character from the life loving "Sal Paradise", to the complex "Dean Moriarity" and all the colorful personalities we meet "On The Road" are given life as Dillon captures the essence of what Kerouac himself called the "Beat" generation.
Before there were Hippies or Yuppies, it was hip to be "Beat".The generation of writers, poets, artists, and musicians living Bohemian lifestyles yearning for knowledge,and enjoying life to it's fullest.
"On The Road", based on Kerouac's own travels, follows the adventures of Sal and Dean as they criss-cross North America, usually broke, trying to find themselves. They experience life, and lifestyles new to them and savor every moment. Every character they encounter touches their lives in some way, and adds greatly to this story. Kerouac's, zest for life and love of people becomes apparent and is contagious.His wonderful descriptive phrases leave you with fabulous images of the people, the places, and the times.I often found myself smiling or even laughing out loud.
This audio edition will have you spellbound. I listened to it every chance I got... while cleaning or working out, and became so engrossed I lost track of the time and my reps(my house is now very clean and my arms very toned!), and brought it with me every time I went somewhere in the car.
If you're looking for a great audio book, a story that pulls you in and a reader who will captivate you, this is one you should consider.I had a great time(Again) and wished I was there!
If the CD is the edition you want be sure that the ISBN on the product page is 0060755334(sometimes the reviews for all the different editions are mixed together).This unabridged edition is also available on cassette-On The Road (ISBN 0694523615). If interested in that edition please see my review of 9/13/03 for details),but in short I can tell you the tapes were an excellent quality as well.
"What's your road, man?".......enjoy...Laurie
Book Review: Jack, Matt, Sal, and Dean
Summary: 5 Stars
I urge you to listen to this superb but flawed classic if only to witness the emotional honesty of the underrated Matt Dillon's passionately versatile performance. The young actor would be inspired by the bravery and intangibility of genuine acting, if only Dillon's voice for Dean Moriarty.
The young novelist should also study this work for the promise and pitfalls inherent with the risk of composing a flow of uncorrected words. Truman Capote, another talent tortured by his alcoholism, was part right and wrong, when he complained 'That's not writing, that's typing.' Kerouac's glorious depictions of the beat lifestyle, how to listen to bebop, the energies of town and country, driving on the highway, and Dean Moriarty's elliptical syntax keep this work suspended in the heavens.
The author needed, however, to temper his stylistic bravery with the humility of relying on a brilliant editor. He cheats the reader and himself by cowering away from his inner life. Sal hides his past, despite disclosing Dean's. He also abandons his talent for describing the indescribable bond between lovers and friends after a first promising encounter with his future wife. Alcoholism can drive one to this despondently hopeful but closed world view, while ironically propelling one to the open road. But it is also usually foreshadowed by a confusing chaotic childhood. It is not enough to say that Kerouac was staying consistent with Sal's character, an observer of others who can't observe himself. A courageous novelist could reveal his secrets in a disarming, unpredictable, and deceptively unselfconscious way.
An editor would have also encouraged Jack Kerouac to scratch out the word "sad" and all its synonyms that stubbornly drip onto every page. Someone needed to convince him to trust the narrative, which bleeds sadness. To paraphrase Martin Buber, his characters have a relationship with and live in sadness; to give it a name kills its holiness.
This novel still rewards the reader enough, even if shortchanged by the end of the story , as the characters are with each other. Dillon, however, gives back more than what you paid. There's a lot to listen and learn On the Road with Jack, Matt, Sal and Dean.
Book Review: Loved the Reading
Summary: 5 Stars
Matt Dillion was terrific in this reading. I suppose it's a question of
tastes, however. I thought his portrayal of Dean Moriarity was so compelling and very, very funny. I felt I knew the characters after listening to this CD.