Review of On the Road by Jack Kerouac

Jack Kerouac’s book On the Road was not well received by the group. Only one member really enjoyed it. After researching the book some, I found out many colleges and high schools have students read this book. Which makes me wonder, if my group disliked it, did the majority of students dislike it too? Despite the lack of love for Kerouac’s book, we are happy that through book club we are continually exposed to books we may not normally read.

What we liked:

-        There were moments of humor throughout the book. It was a nice break from all the craziness that occurs.

-        It gave us insight into a time that we never experienced and opened our eyes to a different world.

What we didn’t like:

-        None of the women characters were written in an appealing and uplifting light.

-        It was not a page turner kind of read, some of us had to push ourselves to continue reading.

-        There were too many characters introduced into the book that it was hard to keep track of who was who.

-        We couldn’t really relate or connect to the story. The time the book was written about was so long ago and so different from life today.

-        There was too much focus on drugs, sex, and other criminal activities. It was a story full of criminals with little ambition to achieve something more (ex: keep a stable and consistent job).