Big Sur (novel)
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| Author | Jack Kerouac |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus and Cudahy |
| Released | 1962 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | Approx. 256 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-14-016812-5 |
| Preceded by | Lonesome Traveler (1960) |
| Followed by | Visions of Gerard (1963) |
Big Sur, a 1962 novel by Jack Kerouac.
It recounts the tale of a writer who borrows the cabin of a friend for a while, struggling to get over what might be a nervous breakdown or alcoholism or both. For a while the writer lives a happy, contemplative life of simple pleasures, until his craving for company drives him back to the city. It's an extremely dark book, and deals very directly and explicitly with Delirium Tremens.
This novel shows the development of a character from a state of raving alcoholism into a lucid way of life. Kerouac's use of his "Spontaneous Writing" style (similar to stream of consciousness writing) demonstrates the change from unconscious alchoholism to lucidity. For example the first chapter, 5 pages long, is one massive run-on sentence. The development of the character is mirrored by the increasing lucidity of the writing, resulting in several chapters of complete, clear writing.
[edit] References
- 1962. Big Sur, ISBN 0-14-016812-5
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