Of the many Beat writers, Burroughs and Kerouac are the two who I’ve read the most and who’s writing has had the most impact on me. Of the two, I like Burroughs’ writing more but find I identify more with Kerouac’s.

The first Kerouac book I read was n  On The Roadn. I was in college and I was in Spokane in the early morning waiting for a bus to take me home to Cheney. I read the entire book waiting for that bus, which tells you I was way into it and that the busses In Spokane were few and far between.

Having read Burroughs recently, I thought it would be swell to give Kerouac another go. Desolation Angels was at my fingertips so I tackled it. It’s great! His free form, uninterrupted writing turned me off at first, but his language, the overall style of his writing pulled me in. I found myself enjoying the free form stuff more and more each time I encountered it. I found myself, at 34, identifying with thoughts and feelings Kerouac had at 34 (and writing about years later), identifying with who he was. His description of people, the way he conveys their personality so freely and successfully, is marvelous. And his reactions to things around him, good bad or neutral, seem terribly honest and I found myself identifying with that, as well.

The one thing I don’t get is the sexism. There’s a one dimensional and fairly grim view of women in this and other Kerouac books. It’s sad that a “movement” so wrapped up and even fueled by open mindedness and acceptance of new ideas was still so backwards regarding women.

What I like best is Kerouac’s descriptions of his friends, the way he talks about them. You feel the love in his words, the fascination with their characters and personalities. And you can tell he loved the quirks more than anything, that he loved every weirdness, oddity and eccentricity they had. It’s a pleasure to read Kerouac talking about his friends.

In fact, some of my favorites parts of Desolation Angels were when he was talking about hanging out with Burroughs. I could hear Burroughs’ voice saying the things in this book, hear his peculiar tones and inflections.

And this is probably blasphemy but I kept seeing David Cross as Irwin Garden (Allan Ginsberg).

Really a very, very good read.

I know the “standard” line on Kerouac is that he started out strong, but faded pretty quickly thereafter. I’m not sure I totally agree with this assessment, though - this book arrives fairly late in his career, yet it holds up really well. In fact although I’ve read “Road” the most, it’s possible “Desolation” is his greatest achievement. Of course, it’s considered this huge cliche to even admit you read this stuff, especially past the age of 25 or so. But I don’t mind admitting he’s had an enormous impact on my writing and my life in general. I would say as far as biggest influences go, or at least the guys I’ve read the most, it comes down to the two giant Ks: Stephen King and Jack Kerouac. And I still enjoy cracking open these classics every now and then. For the uninitiated, yes, I would say start with “On The Road,” followed by maybe “Big Sur” and “Dharma Bums,” but then absolutely conclude your studies with this one. It completely encapsulates everything Jack had to offer, and still feels really vibrant, modern, and original.

Tengo sentimientos encontrados con Desolation Angels. Este es el 8vo libro que leo de Jack Kerouac y durante varios capítulos estuve pensando que definitivamente era el que menos me habia gustado del autor. Sin embargo, los último capítulos hicieron que valiera la pena.

Me enamoré de la obra de Kerouac con "On the Road" y después de eso no he podido parar, su espíritu de trotamundos me parece admirable y la honestidad y detalle con la que detalla sus vivencias me hace empatizar mucho con el.

Pero a diferencia de otras de sus novelas (Al menos de la saga de Duloz) aquí notamos al autor ya cansado de la vida, en un plan muy amargado, egocéntrico y berrinchudo, desilusionado de todo. Entiendo de dónde venía este sentir pero me fue muy impactante ver a uno de mis heroes literarios TAN venido a menos.

Sin embargo, es increíble el notar las referencias a sus otras obras escondidas en las páginas de esta novela, al igual que ir identificando a personajes como Ginsberg, Burroughs y Cassidy.

Es una lectura que recomiendo pero para la que definitivamente se necesita paciencia.

Kerouac's best, IMO.