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“In [On the Road] Kerouac’s heroes were sensation seekers; now they are seekers after truth . . . the novel often attains a beautiful dignity.”—Chicago Tribune
First published in 1958, a year after On the Road put the Beat Generation on the map, The Dharma Bums stands as one of Jack Kerouac’s most powerful and influential novels. The story focuses on two ebullient young Americans—mountaineer, poet, and Zen Buddhist Japhy Ryder, and Ray Smith, a zestful, innocent writer—whose quest for Truth leads them on a heroic odyssey, from marathon parties and poetry jam sessions in San Francisco’s Bohemia to solitude and mountain climbing in the High Sierras.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
February 4, 2020 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780593165287
- File size: 209574 KB
- Duration: 07:16:36
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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September 29, 2008
Kerouac, Jack. The Dharma Bums: 50th Anniversary Edition. Viking. 2008. 187p. F~Kerouac followed up the 1957 smash On the Road with this novel. Though not as successful as Road, Bums introduced Buddhism and its ideas to the Beats, many of whom began following its traditions. This edition sports Ann Douglas's intro to the 2006 Penguin Classics paperback. Viking also is releasing a hardback of Jack's Wake Up: A Life of Buddha (see below).--Mike Rogers, LJ/LJX. -
Actor and fiction writer Ethan Hawke narrates this classic novel with anarchic joy. He brings just the right slant, pace, and tone to this portrait of the 1950s Beat Generation. His narration exhibits the unrestrained enthusiasm that emanates from this autobiographical fiction. Protagonist Ray Smith (Kerouac's alter ego) studies Buddhism, befriends characters who are based on the poets Gary Snyder and Allen Ginsberg, and takes in the San Francisco poetry scene when not riding the rails or hitchhiking around the country. Hawkes immerses himself and the listener in the text, capturing the stream-of-consciousness prose. While some of the party scenes and the male chauvinism may seem dated, the sense of adventure and spiritual seeking never falters. A.D.M. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine
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