On the Road
Jack Kerouac (1957)
“The novel that told an entire generation to drop everything and drive — written in three weeks on a single scroll of paper.”
Short Summary
Sal Paradise, a young writer in New York, becomes infatuated with the charismatic drifter Dean Moriarty. Over four cross-country trips between 1947 and 1950, they crisscross America — from New York to Denver, San Francisco, New Orleans, and Mexico City — chasing jazz, women, drugs, and some ineffable 'IT' that always recedes. Dean abandons everyone who loves him. Sal grows older and sadder. The road leads nowhere, but it was everything.
Detailed Summary
Sal Paradise is a young aspiring writer living with his aunt in Paterson, New Jersey, recently divorced and recovering from a serious illness, when he first hears about Dean Moriarty — a wild, handsome ex-convict from Denver who has come east with his teenage wife Marylou, hungry for experience, con...