On The Road

Have you ever read a book that you knew was good...but you still didn't like it? This is a good book, but something about it made it so that I didn't feel any connection to the characters. That may have been the point because it's about two young friends who travel across the United States like hobos and are terribly lost (not physically, emotionally). It takes place in 1947 when you could travel from New Jersey to San Francisco in a car for less than $100. There were so many interesting, sad things about this novel that I maybe couldn't connect to because I'd never let myself travel on next to nothing like that. I felt uncomfortable for the protagonist because he was traveling with a friend who was a true nutcase. Sometimes I was in awe of of the characters because they seemed so free and uncaring..not strapped down by work or family obligations, but into the instant gratification of their actions (beat music, drugs, sex, alcohol). They didn't have to live like this, or travel like this, but they wanted to see what it was like to live life on the road. Not that I'd object to a road trip...but I just felt like these characters were so irresponsible that I couldn't feel in any way, shape or form empathetic towards them.

Anyway, this is a book you want to read in a couple of sittings because it's easy to forget the last thing that happened...because too much is happening to keep up if you read i twice a week and stop. One thing to warn you on....the author rambles. One subject one sentence, a completely different subject or action or thought the next. I know he did that because that's how these young hobos lives were...a long, steady, rambling mess. I don't think I liked this book. I don't know why though...it's one of those books I feel like I need to think about more. These are the times I wish I was in a book club to get another perspective.