"The night of the big party came. I could practically hear the hubbubs of preparation going on down the hill and felt depressed. 'Oh my God, sociability is just a big smile and a big smile is nothing but teeth, I wish I could just stay up here and rest and be kind.' But somebody brought up some wine and that started me off."
- Jack Kerouac, "The Dharma Bums"
It's been a while since I read On the Road. A. was reading On The Road when she was in NY a few weeks ago, and while we were browsing at the Strand she picked up a nice hard cover copy of Dharma Bums. I decided to try it out because I was preaching to A. about how much I love Kerouac, and then realized I have read a very limited amount of his work.
I really liked Dharma Bums, but there were a few lines that really stayed with me (like the above quote). It is kind of a beautiful, meandering tale that touches on some very large subjects. It makes you think. And, I like that. Am now reading Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Hunter S. Thompson and Kerouac were supposedly buddies, and I have a book they co-authored on my bedside table right now. Dharma Bums and Fear and Loathing seem like total opposites stylistically, but they give you that same feeling that you are reading something that is a part of something bigger than just the book itself.
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