As the second book in the 100 Greatest Novels series, I have chosen a book that is truly inspirational, to me at least.
Jack Kerouac wrote On the Road in 1957. It is a biographical work that had truly had only the names changed to protect Kerouac's friends, and was presented as a fictional account of a young man's journey across the country. The fictional facade was easily seen through and today On the Road is considered to be mostly biographical and less fictional.
This book should be on any top novels list, not only because it is well written, but also because it spawned an entire movement. Reading On the Road is almost as good as going on the road trip yourself. The details are so vivid you can taste the dirt, feel the wind in your hair, and luckily, if you only read the book, you will still be able to pass a drug test afterwords.
On the Road is one of those books that inspires you. It inspired an entire generation of youth, tired of the lack of opportunity and the threat of impending war, in the 60s to pack a small bag and go. Kerouac is one of the founding fathers of the Beat Generation and will continue to show us how to live, live, live. It may not inspire you to jump in the car and drive, but it will inspire you to get up and go.
Parents, I warn you that this book does contain a lot of drug use and has some sexual content.
Authors you may also like: Hunter S. Thompson, William S. Burroughs, Tom Wolfe, Allen Ginsburg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti
GIVEAWAY – Winner will be announced on August 29th. Win a copy of On the Road for your Kindle or other e-reader. To enter, leave a comment telling me why you are excited to read this book. For extra entries:
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I don't want to be entered into the contest, I just wanted to say thanks for such a good write up! I wasn't familiar with this book before, but have added it to my mountainous list of books to be read.
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