The First Third by Neal Cassady Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $8.34 You Save: $7.61 (48%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $2.43 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of The First Third
Book Review: To Short
Summary: 4 Stars
I recieved a copy of this in the mail about a week ago and I read it in about 2 days. I thought the opening parts about Neal's geneology were well written and the parts of his own life were interesting enough, but there is not alot of character development in this. Neal's letters to Kerouac and Kesey give some insight to his personality. This book is worthy reading for any Kerouac fan and anyone interested in learning more about Cassady that hasn't already been recorded by Kerouac, Kesey, Wolfe, etc..
I finished the book wishing there were more and feeling a bit saddened that anyone who could inspire as many people as Neal did should die alone in a foreign country so far from his friends.
I think had he lived he would have eventually mellowed with age and provided us with a greater insight in the freedom of the open road as well as the appreciation for the simplier things in life a man aquires after much hard travelling in search of the American night.
Book Review: american hero?
Summary: 5 Stars
While I didn't find the actual writing style to be as exciting and wonderful as anticipated (considering his friends were always so wowed and impressed with his letters), you get an idea of how Neal talked through his writing. This is an incredibly important book as far as trying to figure out who Neal was. It is hard to wade through the idealised american holy hero angel kerouac identified him as, as well as the viewpoint of those such as carolyn and allen and figure out who he is. for the first time we get his words about what happened to him in the earlier years of his life. the only bad thing about this book is that he didn't get farther before he died.Book Review: autobio from kerouac's inspiration
Summary: 4 Stars
This book starts with Cassady's autobio of his childhood years, and a brief history of his ancestors. while the prologue was interesting, because of where neal came from, it wasn't as exciting as the actual text of the first third, which was excellent, and why i gave this four stars. it was written in a style very much similar to kerouac. i only wish he had completed the manuscript. following the first third is a selection of NC's unfinished writings, which i have to say was a dissapointment. it isn't much of a surprise that he wrote nothing, and that kerouac is the primary figure of the beats. next follow a few of neal's letters to kerouac, which are a great insight to the mind of one of the central figures of the beats (in fact, one of the letters discussed an incident that i recognize from on the road). the final selection is a letter to ken kesey. i'm sure there are much better letters to chose from, this one was boring and one of the weaker selections. the letters seem to have no particular reason for being here, just to fill the book with cassady's writings. still, a valuable book to have for any fan of the beats.Book Review: constanly risking absurdity
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is great if you truly want to get into the mind of the fastest man on the planet. just like neal who could jump around from one topic to the other in mid-sentence, that is exactly the way he writes the book. Don't confuse neal with jack, because neal is to fast to sit down and read in one setting. And the letter at the end make for some good and funny reading. If you truly love the beats and want to see what the heartbeat is really all about, check this book out.Book Review: humrously addictive!
Summary: 5 Stars
The First Third documents neal Cassady's childhood, illustrated through his adventures with his homeless father and inpoverished upbringing. It includes some fabulous ideas inside many intentional run on sentances. Not for the grammatically correct. I got to the end and wished it had been longer. Cassady is an addictive writer, with easy language and deep ideas.