Most youth movements suck:

Youth movement guy

The story: French-Canadian writer JK, who is based in New York City, undertakes a few roadtrips around the USA. Sometimes he is accompanied by friends, sometimes he stays in one place for a while, and sometimes he just drifts around. He takes up a few odd jobs, seeks sexual encounters, does drugs and generally parties a lot. And he seems to be obsessed with one of his buddies, a guy he calls Dean Moriarty.

JK is generally classified as a writer of a post-war youth movement called „the beat generation“, and this book is looked upon as something like its manifesto. Well, here’s one problem: Youth movements have a strong tendency to suck.

This travelogue is written in a narrative mode called „stream of consciousness“, and as such, I found it very wordy, if not to say boring. It was just endless paragraphs going on and on about people who seem to be obsessed with themselves. I didn’t like it.

Sure, there were some moments where JK’s poetic talent showed through (“At dusk I walked. I felt like a speck on the surface of the sad red earth.”), but overall, it was still a pretty boring read.

Sorry, guys.

3/10