Book Review: On the Road by Jack Kerouac

From goodreads.com:
Three generations of writers, musicians, artists, and poets cite their discovery of On the Road as the event that "set them free."
On the Road chronicles Jack Kerouac's years traveling North America with his friend Neal Cassidy, "a sideburned hero of the snowy west." As "Sal Paradise" and "Dean Moriarty," the two roam the country in a quest for self-knowledge and experience. Kerouac's love of America, his compassion for humanity, and his sense of language as jazz combine to make On the Road a work of lasting importance.

This book has been on my bookshelf for quite sometime. I can't remember where I acquired this book, or even why.  It may have been a time when I thought: "I should read that, it is an 'American Classic'."

Well, I just finished reading it and let's just say, I was underwhelmed. I was left wondering why this was a classic and what importance it really had in the literature world.  There was a lot of stuff "happening" in the book without a lot "happening". I was bored of the characters, and I could not relate to them in anyway.  Some say that it is an enlightening book (?)... I don't know what they were reading, as I was not enlightened in the least.  I was confused most of the time, and could never really get excited about any of the characters.

I found Dean Moriarty pathetic and attention-seeking.  He came into Sal's life at all the wrong times.  It seemed whenever Sal was on the path to get his life together, his "pal" Dean would show up.  In a way it was like Dean was Sal's older brother, and Sal had no way to say no to his "adventures" (which were literally just driving back and forth from Frisco to New York at high speeds either hitchhiking or in stolen cars, with random stops in Denver) for fear he wouldn't be deemed "cool enough."

By the end of this book, I was counting the pages until I was finished.  I agree whole-heartedly with Truman Capote's assessment... "That's not writing, that's typing." It was exactly that.... typing for typing's sake.  I wouldn't bother with this book, and I can't imagine why anyone would assign this book as required reading (and I know a lot do).

Overall Rating: 2.5/10