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.

Different, adsorbing, very good

The best narration takes this crazy classic to a high level. I would not have been able to read this but to hear W. Patton bring it to life significantly enhanced the experience. Sad it ended.

Great old book, BUT WILL PATTON ROCKS IT. GET IT

GET THIS!
I've read this before, but never heard the supremely talented Will Patton perform it.
The work is a wonderful true-life representation of the BEAT GENERATION. Constantly seeking the "it" of things from music, women, black guys, gay men and everyone else Sal and Dean come across. This is not Maynard Krebbs and Doby Gillis!
Dean, Sal and their multiple "gangs" of guys & gals, spread over the country, seek the essence of life. The real deal of being in the moment.
The performance. Patton rants through Dean's rants, gives you the feel of the out-of-control guys and their pursuits. Patton actually sings the horn parts as band members "BLOW" their tops off. Patton imitates (not unlike a scat singer) the sounds of instruments, including drums-- Kerouac was not around to give Patton stage directions, maybe someone else helped Will re-imagine the special feelings and sounds? I love it either way!
TALENT MET TALENT!
I felt young and re-vitalized by author and performer!

Takes Patience but Worth It

Long story, rambling across America. But, the story of Dean and what he becomes is worth it- all set in the wonderous jazz of Kerouac’s prose and the sublimity of the American landscape. Thanks, Jack Kerouac for this adventure into the time and space of your life.

Exhaustingly boring

This book was a chore. Good performance, but Spoiler alert: nothing happens. At least I get the reference in step brothers now.

A bible!

I have some friends who have decleared this book their bible, and I can see why. It really changes your view of the world.
Will Patton as a narrator is perfect for this novel. He reads it incredibly fast though, so strap up. But that is how this novel needs to be read, because the story takes place is such a pace.
A must-read and a definite five star book!

What a wild ride!

I first experienced the wonder of On the Road in 1969 and deemed it "far out" (along with just about everything else!). Listening to it these many moons and schools and experiences later I found it just as mind blowing as that first read. My great joy this time was listening to Will Patton's magical interpretation. His melodious, southern-tinged voice is perfect for the ra-ta-tat-tat rhythm of Kerouac's words, pulling me into Sal's world in a way my old 17 year-old brain couldn't possibly have understood. Thanks, Will. Beautifully done.

Didn't live up to my expectations

I am probably too simple minded to really get the concept of this book. Was too "stream of consciousness " for my taste. Many love this book, It is a classic, I just couldn't get into it, and was really really bored. Overall a 2.75.

An anarchist's story with an actor's passion

I'm not sure why I skirted this icon for so long. Probably some university trauma. But I thought the 50th anniversary made it the right time to try this one on.
And I'm glad I did.
I thoroughly enjoyed the story, and especially the engaging narration, though I find the protagonist, Dean, and his amoral hyperactivity eventually fatiguing -- as did Sal, the first-person character.

A love story tinged with madness

It's hard to fault Kerouac for his enthusiasm searching for meaning and love on the highways of midcentury America, even with its flaws. The passion called to so many writers and artists of the last sixty years and influenced American culture. it seems almost beside the point to consider whether the characters were likable or real because of the long shadow the book has cast even now long after the country has changed so much.

A little slow in the middle

Started to drag in the middle, but overall good book. Will Patton does a great job acting out the dialog between the characters. Perhaps the abridged version would be a more appropriate pace.