On the Road is one of those novels that seems to crop up on almost every "literary classics" lists. The influence it has is apparent in modern literature and pop culture. I understand why, but I don't really think a contemporary reader NEEDS to read it. Doing a bit of research about it I discovered that this was one of the first popular examples of "stream of consciousness" style writing. I suppose it does deserve a special little star for that. Some of the prose here is really wonderful and evocative. It does capture some of the awe and wonder that Kerouac must have felt while rambling across America.

It's also way too long, self indulgent and boring. Sal is self centered, self destructive alcoholic who has no concern for anybody else in the world other than his friend Dean who is ever more self centered and destructive. The characters bounce around from one part of America for the sake of living the beat lifestyle. That's it. That's the whole book. If what I described doesn't appeal to you, I'd steer clear. There are moments of discovery that would have been (I imagine) rather profound to a reader in the 1950s but it's 2020. We've had seventy years. The world this book is idealising is like gone. Been gone for a while. That's okay. We can discover and love new things.