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I'd agree with Rizla as well. Just up to part 4 of On the Road now, and I'm trying to garner enough enthusiasm to finish off the last 60 pages or so. In fact halfway through it, picked up King Solomon's Mines to read, which is something I never do normally do, because I prefer to finish one book then on to the next rather than read both con-currently. Pretty much finished KSM as well, so I guess I'm going to have to finish off OTR.
The auto-biographical style is interesting, definitely at first, but once I got used to it, it does become fairly dull, in that everything is given the same relevance, in that going to the servic station is given the same amount of emphasis as him and Dean going on a bender. There's times where I was almost begging for him to just stop and reflect about it for a bit, but then its straight onto the bus station or a jazz club. Really frustrating in that he'll go on describing a jazz club and all about the band for a few pages, but won't spare a few pages for a something that really deserves it (no examples I can remember off the top of my head, but that sort of makes the point in that nothing is made to be seen as really remarkable when it occurs, because the story keeps chugging on). I realise it's probally a conscious decision not to reflect on events and stuff, it definitely is, but Sal leaving the Mexican girl behind in California, even though he does mention later that he could/wished to have had stayed there, you don't get that impression that he would have and he regrets it, because it doesn't have that great of an importance in the story, but I'm just babbling now.
Decent book, but it definitely lost steam for me. I do want to know what happens to Sal and Dean and how they end up, but not burning to see how it ends. Really hoping I dig it at the end, but. |
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