On the Road by Jack Kerouac

On the Road chronicles Jack Kerouac's years traveling the North American continent with his friend Neal Cassady, "a sideburned hero of the snowy West." As "Sal Paradise" and "Dean Moriarty," the two roam the country in a quest for self-knowledge and experience. Kerouac's love of America, his compassion for humanity, and his sense of language as jazz combine to make On the Road an inspirational work of lasting importance.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This book is a study in the ridiculous. The characters were ridiculous and the plot line was labyrinthine and pointless. This book is similar to a train wreck - you should look away, but you can’t. The narrative made me laugh, but not necessarily because the situations were humorous. I think I laughed because I didn’t really know what else to do. At first, I hoped that maybe it would get better, but even a quarter of the way in, I knew it wouldn’t. In the end, I was left completing indifferent to the whole thing. I’m not sure why this book is considered a classic.

2016 Reading Challenge: A book about a road trip