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.

Great reader, less than gripping story

The reader was fantastic. His voices and dialogue really made the story come alive. I really wanted to love this book but I struggled with the narrative at times. It is an interesting period piece about the "beat" generation but in my opinion, struggles to have a point

Meandering Manic Sociopathy

Fascinating book, a period piece, which shows that things never change. The story revolves around two men who are constantly traveling, sometimes stealing cars, living hand to mouth, and generally having a good time. Dean Moriarty, the sidekick, is a manic sociopath, stealing cars, lying to women, not sleeping, and being the "hero of his own story," using the modern parlance. It's a fun romp through the immediate post-war period by some twenty-somethings trying to find meaning in their lives.

exceptional storytelling

The narrator makes this book come alive. Many books are better to read, but this is one is made better if listened to by the narrator.

Excellent performance

The story: the ultimate road trip, left me as tired as Dean at the end after all the partying scenes.

Revisiting

Read this book in college and loved it. Then I spent 9 months on the road wandering and visiting beautiful places. Now…re-visiting it… and I’m torn. I no longer seem to appreciate the characters, their motivations, or how they approach the splendor of life ‘on the road’ in America. Also, this is a book of a certain era in time, and it can be tough to get past some of the subtle racism and bigotry.

If you’re young and have insatiable wanderlust then give it a try. Otherwise, there may be better options.

Narrator is amazing

The narrator is SO AMAZING. I usually hate listening to audio books because I can’t stand the narrator or certain quirks they do. But this one is amazing. I wish this guy did all of Kerouac’s books.

On the Road.

Should have read this 60 years ago. THIS is a real writer. Performance was excellent.

My Favorite Narration and a Wonderful Book

I estimate I've listened to over a hundred audio books so far. When I try to convince people that they should check out audio books, I always pick this "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac narrated by Will Patton as the first thing they should hear.

There are many books that I am so glad to have heard (the Hyperion series, the Enders Game series, even Atlas Shrugged and of course Armor).

But I don't think I could hear in my head any book as well from paper as Will Patton reads this one out loud. He's poetical, exhuberant, exciting, and makes this whismical and joyous appreciation of life become contagious.

On the road reminds me that there's so much to appreciate in every little thing, and Will Patton is that extra boost to make this great book the best.

Will Patton Rocks

No one can read audiobooks as well as Will Patton. At this point, I'd listen to him read ANYTHING (yes, even the phone book.)

I guess I just didn't get it...

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I was excited to listen to this selection based on the reviews but I guess I just didn't get it. Will Patton did an excellent job narrating the book which was the only thing that got me through the whole thing. Other reviewers cited this book as their bible but I found it to be rather meandering and pointless in the end. Perhaps after further reflection it will dawn on me what they meant by this, but for now, just having finished it... i don't get it. Maybe my expectations were set too high from reading the other reviews.

Would you ever listen to anything by Jack Kerouac again?

Not sure

Have you listened to any of Will Patton’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Not sure. I guess I'm a little interested in seeing how it gets interpreted. I'll wait for the DVD for sure