Go: A Novel: Amazon.ca: John Clellon Holmes: Books

Product Description

Book Description

Generally acknowledged to be the first Beat novel, go was originally published in 1952, five years before Kerouac's On the Road. "John Clellon Holmes became the Beat Generation's chief chronicler."--Newsweek.

About the Author

John Clellon Holmes (1926-1988) was an essayist, poet, and novelist; and was a "sometime member" of the Beat Generation. He published GO in 1952; The Horn, a novel about jazz, would follow in 1958, and Get Home Free, depicting the later fate of two characters from Go, would appear in 1964. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

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Customer Reviews

7 Reviews

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Average Customer Review

3.9 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars The first Beat novel rediscovered, Nov 13 2001

By

Jeffrey Ellis "bored recluse" (Richardson, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Go: A Novel (Paperback)

"Go," generally acknoweldged as the first of the Beat Generation novels, was Holmes' first novel and it shows many of the typical flaws of the first major work of a talented artist. The tone is incosistent, the plot tends to wander, and the first half the book has a tendency to drag. That said, "Go" is still a worthwhile novel. Much as his friend Jack Kerouac would later do, Holmes essentially records his life as an aspiring writer living on the fringes of the postwar New York underground. Under various aliases, such familiar characters as Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and Neal Cassady wander through the book. In its loose, episodic fashion, "Go" tells the story of a young writer who, while desperately trying to complete his first novel, watches his friends and wife dance through a decadent society, fueled by their own desire to say something original in a world that seems to fear and despise anything less than the purely conventional. Its a familiar plot but Holmes truly manages to capture both the excitement and the fear that goes with being both young and undiscovered. This a book that will be easily understood by anyone who has ever been convinced that they, for whatever reason, have been blessed with the ability to see both the beauties and the horrors of modern life that the rest of the world seems to safely ignore. As well, the book serves as a sad lament for both the promise and the ultimate fate of the original members of the Beat Generation. Though Holmes couldn't have realized it at the time, some of the book's most powerful scenes comes from having the knowledge of the ignominous fates that await characters like Gene Pasternak (Jack Kerouac) and Hart Kennedy (Neal Cassady) once they find the success that they are so desperately seeking. Even if uneven, it makes for an exhilirating read that, in the wonderful final chapter, truly does leave the reader feeling as if he has -- for a moment -- been transported back to the New York of the 1950s, when it truly seemed that these fatally flawed geniuses held the future and the salvation of American literature in their hands.

Though he is usually credited with both coining the much maligned term "Beat Generation" as well as writing "Go," the first truly Beat novel, John Clellon Holmes has long been overshadowed by more experimental contemporaries like Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and William S. Burroughs. As Holmes himself acknowledged in personal interviews and this autobiographical novel, he was always on the fringe of the main Beat group -- i.e., a somewhat conservative, responsible intellectual trying to make a name for himself amongst a group that prided itself on being neither conservative nor responsible. Holmes is one of the few important Beat figures to never figure importantly into any of Kerouac's novels and his writing style was far more conventional than those of the better known Beats. As a result, "Go" has too often been unjustly ignored by modern-day adherents to the Beat Generation. This is unfair because "Go," though certainly imperfect, is still a valuable look at these future mythological figures before they become legends and is an entertaining work on its own.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Early Beat Chronicles, Jan 19 2002

By

Patrick Julian Cassidy (San Francisco...Author of "A Journey to Bohemia") - See all my reviews

This review is from: Go: A Novel (Paperback)

The author has been generally ignored as to his place
in the formative years of Beat-O-Roma, and this book
becomes a good background check on his impressive
"credentials". He certainly can't write with that
jazz laced pen which Keroauc used to set the tone
of beat writings, but his story really sheds a lot
of light upon the struggles which this anarcistic
movement bestowed upon its followers.
All in all, if you like beat culture you
will probabley find this to be an enjoyable read.

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4.0 out of 5 stars STOP! AND READ THIS BOOK, Nov 11 2000

By

K. G. Matt (Strongsville, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Go: A Novel (Paperback)

Whenever the immortal giants are discussed and associated with The Beat Generation the trinity of Kerouac, Ginsberg and Cassady top the list. After reading "Go" by John Clellon Holmes I feel he deserves some recognition. His story follows 4 major characters that howl through early 50's New York along with a cast of minor junkies, addicts and Hobbes' wife who can't decide what she wants. From smoky jazz clubs like The Go Hole and all night "tea" parties Hobbes(holmes), Pasternak(kerouac), Stofsky(ginsberg) and Kennedy(cassady) face life's situations and decisions with actions and reactions that portrayed most everyone who would become what is known as "The Beat Generation." And, as we all know, that was really the beginning of all that is hip, cool, far-out and trendy.

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Most recent customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Go: a Beat journal
A hard to find novel, and one I thought would be as entertaining as it is legendary. However, I found myself for much of the book wanting to put it down. Read more

Published on July 17 2000 by Nick

3.0 out of 5 stars Clarification
Just a clarification of the synopsis offered by amazon (or newsweek) above. Although Go was published in 1952,5 years before On The Road, by Jack Kerouac, Kerouac had actually... Read more

Published on Jun 2 2000