Two ebullient young men are engaged in a passionate search for Dharma, or Truth. They seek the lesson of solitude--when they can find time--between forays into the pagan groves of San Francisco's Bohemia. 5 cassettes.
The Dharma Bums
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One of the best and most popular of Kerouac's autobiographical novels, The Dharma Bums is based on experiences the writer had during the mid-1950s while living in California, after he'd become interested in Buddhism's spiritual mode of understanding. One of the book's main characters, Japhy Ryder, is based on the real poet Gary Snyder, who was a close friend and whose interest in Buddhism influenced Kerouac. This book is a must-read for any serious Kerouac fan.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
About the Author
Jack Kerouac(1922-1969), the central figure of the Beat Generation, was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1922 and died in St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1969. Among his many novels are On the Road, The Dharma Bums, Big Sur, and Visions of Cody.
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Ann Douglas teaches English at Columbia University. Her books include Terrible Honesty: Mongrel Manhattan in the 1920s and The Feminization of American Culture.
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First Sentence
Hopping a freight out of Los Angeles at high noon one day in late September 1955 I got on a gondola and lay down with my duffel bag under my head and my knees crossed and contemplated the clouds as we rolled north to Santa Barbara. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Hopping a freight out of Los Angeles at high noon one day in late September 1955 I got on a gondola and lay down with my duffel bag under my head and my knees crossed and contemplated the clouds as we rolled north to Santa Barbara. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful, sprawling novel that sprawls and sprawls and sprawls ad nauseum
Sep 1 2008
Format:Paperback
I hold a great deal of interest in the beat writers and have read a variety of novels from the likes of Burroughs and have read a few books from Ginsberg. Kerouac is undoubtedly the most talented of the three big guns of the Beats.
Kerouac's writing is poetry. The simultaneous amalgam of vivid and surreal scenes gives literally every sentence a touch of beauty. I can not get over how well written this book was. Kerouac could not have crafted better sentences and rambled sections.
The one problem I had with this book was that, really, not a lot happened. It is essentially 200 pages of Ray and Japhy walking through woods, climbing mountains and waxing philosophical and Buddhist. I love nature, trees, woods, forests and lakes, and have a deep rooted connection to the rural lifestyle having come from a town noted only for its scenery and natural beauty, and my own grandfather literally lived in the woods for a large portion of his life and we still visit the place of his home now, years after the house burnt down and the government swindled the land from him. I love this sort of thing. However, it does get tedious to read over 200 pages. I actually put the book down for 6 months.
Also, I find the book a little self-congratulatory. Kerouac spends a great deal of time essentially saying how awesome it is to be a dharma bum like he and his companions. Sure, it does seem like a life-altering experience, but it does become grating after a while.
Still, a classic beautiful novel that has one of the greatest endings I've ever read.
Kerouac's writing is poetry. The simultaneous amalgam of vivid and surreal scenes gives literally every sentence a touch of beauty. I can not get over how well written this book was. Kerouac could not have crafted better sentences and rambled sections.
The one problem I had with this book was that, really, not a lot happened. It is essentially 200 pages of Ray and Japhy walking through woods, climbing mountains and waxing philosophical and Buddhist. I love nature, trees, woods, forests and lakes, and have a deep rooted connection to the rural lifestyle having come from a town noted only for its scenery and natural beauty, and my own grandfather literally lived in the woods for a large portion of his life and we still visit the place of his home now, years after the house burnt down and the government swindled the land from him. I love this sort of thing. However, it does get tedious to read over 200 pages. I actually put the book down for 6 months.
Also, I find the book a little self-congratulatory. Kerouac spends a great deal of time essentially saying how awesome it is to be a dharma bum like he and his companions. Sure, it does seem like a life-altering experience, but it does become grating after a while.
Still, a classic beautiful novel that has one of the greatest endings I've ever read.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Man, I don't know where to start. "The Dharma Bums" is a masterpiece of the Beat Generation and a novel I will not soon forget. After The Loser's Club by Richard Perez, this is the best book I've read all year.
Jack Kerouac wrote this story about his days as a Zen Buddhist and rucksack wanderer. His alias in the book is Raymond Smith, and he is living in Berkley with his good buddy Alvah Goldbook(Allen Ginsburg). Ray meets a Zen Lunatic named Japhy Ryder(Gary Snyder), and together they travel the mountains and pastures of Central California trying to find themselves and find the true meaning of life. Ray also journies to Desolation Peak in Washington and lives there alone for the summer, which is just another chapter to this amazing piece of literature.
Another part of this book that impressed me was the beginning, when Kerouac wrote about his experience at the San Francisco Poetry Renaissance, and spoke of Alvah Goldbook's first reading of his poem "Wail", which in reality was Allen Ginsburg's legendary first reading of "Howl", which to this day is a Beat Literature classic.
While reading this book, I was constantly marking lines and passages, because some of the descriptions and poetry Kerouac included in this novel are simply amazing. "The Dharma Bums" is one of those books I will treasure forever and read over and over again.
By L. Williams
Format:Hardcover
Although it took way longer than the estimated ship date to arrive, the book was in great shape.
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4.4 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely Phenomenal
Kerouac and Snyder were way ahead of their time, and this book details some of the reasons why. Zen Buddhism is old hat these days, but that these guys were wandering around... Read more
Published on Aug 26 2008 by Kieran Fox
5.0 out of 5 stars
Kerouac again
Like ON THE ROAD, this book is a bit of a time capsule. More "Zen-like" than ON THE ROAD, Kerouac's Ray Smith (the narrator of DHARMA BUMS) is a dead ringer for Mr. K. Read more
Published on Oct 6 2006 by Manny F.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Enlightening
Most likely the best Kerouac book other than On The Road, Kerouac is at his best, eloquant yet unafraid of using colloquialisms to establish a believable atmosphere. Read more
Published on May 10 2006 by Ghoulish
5.0 out of 5 stars
On the Road with The Dharma Bums
I first met Kerouac in the early 70s, when I was finishing my sentence in college. He inspired me to actually go on the road and hitch hike across the country several times... Read more
Published on July 14 2004 by LMO
5.0 out of 5 stars
A cool drink
DHARMA BUMS came out a year after ON THE ROAD. While the latter is the beat manifesto celebrating the peripatetic lifestyle, BUMS focuses on the beat romance with Buddhist... Read more
Published on May 3 2004 by C. Ebeling
5.0 out of 5 stars
one of kerouac's finest
I've heard it said that this is Kerouac's greatest novel. I still say that honor is held by On the Road, but this book is just as good. And it is his most spiritual novel. Read more
Published on Mar 16 2004 by adead_poet@hotmail.com
5.0 out of 5 stars
the kerouacian
dharma bums by far kerouac's best work. a wonderful display of his spontaneous prose style and immense compassion for others.
Published on Mar 9 2004 by bashopoem
5.0 out of 5 stars
Finding freedom at last
Jack Kerouac and his friends were a part of a group of individuals who were known in the early 1950's as "The Beat Generation. Read more
Published on Jan 29 2004 by IRA Ross
2.0 out of 5 stars
Kerouac is not that great
Maybe I am not as enlightened as all of you, but I don't think this book is all that great. Kerouac is often completely incoherent. Much of what is said is nonsense. Read more
Published on Jan 27 2004 by Anthony S. Melton
3.0 out of 5 stars
Zen Man On a Mountain
Westerners tend to have under-adjusted encounters with Buddhism, because they are usually attached to the 'idea' of their being detached-- a fallacy because Buddhism asserts the... Read more
Published on Dec 5 2003 by Jimmy Chen
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