Anyone read Kerouac, On the Road?

[thatmustbenigelwiththebrie]

Because I have just finished it and, oh my God, what a slog. I had expected it to be a little unconventional but I just couldn't wait for it be over. There were, granted, some delicious descriptions of American landscapes and the odd pithy phrase, but other than that I found it rather tedious. I'd be interested in hearing others' opinions!

I had to read it at University. Sooooooo tedious and I wanted to like it so much.

Yes, I came to the conclusion after reading ‘On the Road‘ and ‘Catcher in the Rye’ that ‘seminal’ is synonymous with ‘tedious’ and ‘a bit shit’.

I am glad it isn't just me. I also really wanted to like it. Perhaps it's one of those things you need to read at 17 not 39

Seminal = seemed really impressive to 18yo American boys.

It's a decent description of a road trip for someone who's never been on a road trip or travelled much through America. I quite liked it but I was about 20 when I read it.
Better than whiny Holden Caulfield any day!

Loved the book when I read it (aged 24). The 'On The Road' film (c6 years ago) was awful.

Yeah years ago. I don't remember much about it though. Truman Capote said, of On The Road "that's not writing. That's typing" Or summat along those lines anyway.

A complete and utter wankfest pile of shite.

Didn't like it at all.

Tried reading it in my late teens as i found it in a charity shop and thought it was a 'must read' type book but gave up about a third of the way through! Tedious and so drawn out i can't remember a damm thing about it apart from thinking what a waste of my time.
I love reading but thats one of the very few books i gave up on.

I’ve started it several times...

I’ve given my copy to the charity shop now.

Life’s too short to try again.

I read it quite a few years ago.
My impression was that the structure of the story was very reflective of the 'hero' - sporadic bursts of beautiful, feverish writing, interspersed with dull bits ( like the narrator) but then the ending (which I'm struggling to remember) seems to flip that around.
I don't know if I should read it again, but I enjoyed it at the time.

Read it years ago and cannot remember anything about it.

I remember my brother read it in the bath! He was in there for hours!!

I read the first few pages as a teenager or not much older. Found it unpleasant, misogynistic from vague memory, and didn’t persevere.

I couldn't read it - soooooooo dull.

Did the audiobook. Tedious. Not sure if the narration made it even worse. I suspect it did.

I read it in my late teens and thought it a pile of navel-gazing misogynistic tedium.

Oh, and I thought it was me. Had to read it for my degree when I was about 20...

I switched to linguistics.

Started it, never finished it.

I read it as a teen and hated it. The same with Catcher in the Rye like wading through treacle.

I read On The Road last summer and was quite disappointed. The character of Dean Moriarty just came across as selfish and a bit dim, and the treatment of women by all of the characters (while perhaps authentic for the period and section of society) is pretty obnoxious. The only scene I really enjoyed was the description of the jazz band performing in the bar in San Francisco.

I liked The Catcher in the Rye, though.

I actually loved it. While since I read it though.

Dull & self-indulgent: I had the same response to Earnest Hemmingway who is similar imo. I liked Catcher in the Rye though.

I hated it. I think it the sort of book that men love .

I heard that Kerouac wrote it during a three-week amphetamine binge. That seems a plausible explanation.

I tried to read it for book club and it was the only book I didn’t finish. It infuriated me - that horrible macho image of men treating women badly. It read like it was written by an incel doing wish fulfilment.