On the road

Author: Jack Kerouac (USA)
Publisher:
Publication Date: Not available
Features: On the Road was revered by post-WWII American youth as a "textbook for life," and alongside Allen Ginsberg's Howl, it is widely recognized as a classic of Beat Generation literature. Written in 1951, the author completed the book in three weeks by typing on a single roll of 30-meter-long paper. For 50 years since its publication, the book has remained a bestseller, having sold 3.5 million copies in the United States alone, with annual sales still growing at a rate of 110,000 to 130,000 copies, not including translations in various languages. The book depicts a young student named Sal, along with Dean (based on Cassady), Marylou, and others, driving across the United States in pursuit of individual freedom. Along the way, they indulge in excessive drinking, hedonism, drug abuse, and sexual liberation. After enduring a long and exhausting period of debauchery, they begin to embrace Eastern Zen Buddhism and come to understand the meaning of life.
On the Road reflects the author's advocated improvisational and spontaneous writing technique, and it extensively covers American sociocultural customs, both of which pose significant challenges for comprehension and translation. The novel's protagonist and his companions hitchhike or drive across the United States several times, finally reaching Mexico.