On the Road

50th Anniversary Edition

By: Jack Kerouac

Narrated by: Will Patton

Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

Few novels have had as profound an impact on American culture as On the Road. Pulsating with the rhythms of 1950s underground America, jazz, sex, illicit drugs, and the mystery and promise of the open road, Kerouac’s classic novel of freedom and longing defined what it meant to be “beat” and has inspired generations of writers, musicians, artists, poets, and seekers who cite their discovery of the book as the event that “set them free”. Based on Kerouac’s adventures with Neal Cassady, On the Road tells the story of two friends whose four cross-country road trips are a quest for meaning and true experience. Written with a mixture of sad-eyed naïveté and wild abandon, and imbued with Kerouac’s love of America, his compassion for humanity, and his sense of language as jazz, On the Road is the quintessential American vision of freedom and hope, a book that changed American literature and changed anyone who has ever picked it up. This edition commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of the first publication of the novel in 1957 and will be a must-have for any literature lover.

©1955, 1957 John Sampas, Literary Representative, the Estate of Stella Sampas Kerouac (P)2007 Penguin Audio, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

Will Patton makes this a gem of a listen

An American classic, a perfect orator and voice, a book that's got me torn up and introspective all at once. The wildness of postwar America is as idyllic as it is dreary, as intriguing as it is dark and lonely. Loved it and this reading.

Riveting performance art

Will Patton brings to life the wild rants and reveries of Keroac's manic pilgrims. He makes the most of what's poetic in monologues that wind around sense and nonsense to headache inducing extremes. The book is overrated, but the performance was riveting!

An Essential American Portrait

Kerouac peers into the soul of America and captures a true snapshot of a mood and a movement that endured for the better part of a century. It is compelling, though not a pretty picture. It is unifying in its treatment of the American landscape and culture. Complex and tragic are the characters, which are brilliantly animated by the narration. The result is a powerfully endearing image despite its deeply flawed protagonists. I don’t know why I waited so long to pick up this title.

Remarkable Characterization

This text has obviously stood the test of time, ushering in the groovy mindset of the 60's. Mr. Kerouac certainly sets the tone for a decade. A fine book.

However, my main praise is reserved for the narrator, Will Patton. He gives a voice, and a whole 3 dimensional characterization of the unstoppable, wild, yet lovable Dean Moriarity. An unforgettable job. Worth a listen just to admire Will do his job with this "rat".

Beautifully crafted tale about utter scalawags

Where does On the Road rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Great reader, stellar use of the English language. Helps me understand what was wrong with the Hippie movement. The idealism was drowned by a confusion of freedom with self-centered self-indulgence

Has On the Road turned you off from other books in this genre?

Yes - I don't like those people very much

What does Will Patton bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He did a great job with the reading, but I can't say that any reader can put words in my head better than reading something for myself.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When one of Sal and Neal's friends girlfriend had the money to finance their trip, and she wouldn't go unless the friend married her, so he did. Then at the first opportunity they dump her with some relatives and continue merrily along with none of them expressing an iota or remorse or concern for her feeling or her welfare. I was "moved". I wondered how many people admired those "mad ones" whose madness is based solely on self-gratification without giving a damn about anyone else, least of all the women (and incidental children) in their lives.

Any additional comments?

If it weren't for Kerouac's command of the language it would be an unbearable bromance of a couple of creeps. How much of the Hippie exodus to San Francisco was inspired by this book? I have always identified as a leftist, but reading this book helped me understand what conservatives disliked about Beats and Hippies. I was too young in the 60's to fully understand what was going on.

he belonged to the world.

obviously well written. read it very well. I couldn't have been more pleased about the sale of Dean Moriarty

A good listen!

Having missed On The Road and other "significant" books in my earlier years when I was busy with college, marriage, raising my children, working, I finally decided to listen to it at the ripe old age of 63. I have to admit that while parts of it were more interesting than others, on the whole it wasn't the among the best books I ever read, and it's a good thing I didn't read it because I would never have finished it. Thank goodness for Will Patton's narration. He was perfect! He actually made the book come to life. It was so much more interesting for me. I enjoyed his interpretations of the different characters, especially Dean Moriarity, of course. Don't read this book. Listen to this version instead! It's the best way to appreciate it.

If this book doesn't inspire you to live...

The narrator speaks with a beat. The story is wild, like a ride through a bipolar universe. Up and down. High and low. East to West. North to South. Then it all cycles again. Makes me want to pack up and go on an adventure.

You feel like you are in the time...

The first part of the book worried me a little. Kerouac likes to skip the specifics and just give you summaries of his travels and it wasn't until i was deep into the story did i realize he had lulled me into a late forties kind of bum life. After a while you dig what Dean and Sal are talking about and why they live the way they do. Great narrator, i would have given up if it had not been for his talent. Worth a credit.

Listen listen listen

Having read it many times, it just felt amazing it hear it. Bumped it up to 2.