Beat – DaneCobain.com

Title: Big Sur

Author: Jack Kerouac

Type: Non-Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 186

Rating: 4/5

Jack Kerouac – Big Sur

In Big Sur, we get some more of Kerouac’s reflections on his own life in his unique brand of stream of consciousness beat prosody. This one in particular focuses on his slightly later years, after the release of On the Road brought him notoriety, and follows the troubles with alcoholism that plagued both Kerouac and many of his friends.

A particular favourite for me was this little excerpt when he talked about his hangovers: “I feel like the most disgraceful and nay disreputable wretch on earth, in fact my hair is blowing in beastly streaks across my stupid and moronic face, the hangover has now worked paranoia into me down to the last pitiable detail.”

There’s just something about Kerouac’s writing style that’s both absorbing and super enjoyable. Sure, he might make you think, but I felt as though some of his maturity came into play here and added an extra element. There was more wisdom there from the older Jack Kerouac than in his earlier work.

Jack Kerouac

Click here to buy Big Sur.

Bob Dylan – Chronicles: Volume One | Review

Title: Chronicles: Volume One

Author: Bob Dylan

Type: Non-Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 296

Rating: 4*/5

Bob Dylan – Chronicles: Volume One

This book is an interesting little read, because it’s Bob Dylan’s autobiography and the man has an impressive writing style that communicates his voice just as well as his songs do. It puts an interesting spin on the whole ‘celebrity autobiography‘ thing, because Dylan’s words have literary merit in their own right. In fact, didn’t he get awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature?

His writing style is reminiscent of (and inspired by) the Beat poets, who were active at the same time that Dylan was starting out. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’ve seen a photo somewhere of Dylan hanging out with Allen Ginsberg. But Dylan’s voice is easier, more friendly – like listening to a friend as you sit around a fire drinking cans of beer.

It’s also interesting how he approached it. It’s a true memoir, jumping backwards and forwards through time as the author follows different trains of thought but maintaining a steady narrative throughout despite this. And I find it entertaining that it’s volume one, even though no volume two has been released to date. I wonder whether he’s still working on it, or whether this is the best that we’re going to get.

Overall, this probably won’t mean much to the average person, but if you’re a Bob Dylan fan – or a fan of music in general – then there are few better reads for getting such an intriguing insight. It’s fascinating to see behind the creative process and to learn more about what makes him tick. The Daily Telegraph went so far as to call it “the most extraordinarily intimate autobiography by a twentieth-century legend ever written”. I agree with them.