- Paperback: 448 pages
- Publisher: Arkana (Nov 1 1999)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0140194746
- ISBN-13: 978-0140194746
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
- See Complete Table of Contents
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
From Library Journal
Begun in December 1951 as a notebook for his Buddhist studies, this work records Kerouac's reactions to a variety of Buddhist texts. Over the course of five years, it grew to include poems, prayers, dialogs, meditations, and notes on his reading, as well as commentary on family, friends, and meaningful concerns in his life. Readers of Kerouac's novels may find some of the discussions of Buddhist doctrines tedious and repetitive, but those who persevere will be rewarded with interesting insights into Kerouac's struggle with alcoholism, his occasional thoughts of suicide, and his disturbing tendency toward misogyny. Long anticipated by Kerouac scholars, this major work belongs in all literature collections.?William Gargan, Brooklyn Coll. Lib.,
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Kirkus Reviews
More ersatz Buddhism from postwar America's most overrated author. ``Dharma'' is a Buddhist term meaning, roughly, ``law.'' Some of the Dharma purports to be a journal of meditations on that subject, but Kerouac is unable to keep his mind on track, resulting in a work that's ultimately chaotic. His technique seems sound enough: He takes a classic Buddhist philosophical statement and then decodes it for his own use. Unfortunately, his interpretations are usually far from the point, as Kerouac is unable to separate Hinduism, Taoism, and even Catholicism from Buddhism, with repeated incorrect assessments of how the Tao affects Buddhahood (it does not) or how Jesus was a Buddha-like figure (by most accounts he was not). Furthermore, Kerouac, by his own admission, is unable to stay sober long enough to attain any real enlightenment. He sets forth the goals of not drinking, meditating regularly, and abstaining from sex, but he makes lame excuses for his falling off the wagon, and his rationalizations for avoiding sex devolve into plain misogyny, such as his statement ``PRETTY GIRLS MAKE GRAVES F*** you all,'' or his observation that jazz cannot possibly be a high art form if women can perform it. Kerouac's various conceits, e.g., that he is a greater writer than Joyce (whose term for verse- -pome--he steals) or Burroughs (whose ``cut-up'' technique it appears Kerouac is trying to approximate), are downright absurd. Comparing himself as an artist to Mozart on the one hand, while unable to get his manuscripts published (a continual obsession in the journals) on the other, often renders Kerouac laughable. If the reader is left wondering what all this has to do with Buddhism, the answer is, very little. If you're searching for real Buddhism, pick up Suzuki; if you must indulge your guilty pleasures with more Kerouac, reread On the Road. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
1. All Life is Sorrowful Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
1. All Life is Sorrowful Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
that editorial review,
By "nico_blue" (Texarkana, Tx United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Some of the Dharma (Paperback)
Obviously "kirkus" translates to incompetent moron. I have never witnessed a more inept, bungling, and egocentric review as the editorial review above. Obviously this writer is an authority on religion. Perhaps he/she could enlighten us all with the actual origin of life. Religion is based on interpretation, and those that criticize others only display there own insecurities and arrogance. Kerouac is best experienced when read or viewed with an open mind. His sense of freedom and spontaneity are felt in his words and his life. He is one of the most widely read and profoundly influential writers in the American canon. While it is an assumption, the aforementioned critic is not such a celebrated writer, and his review gives too much credit to himself, and it gives too little to Jack Kerouac. {I just felt the need to defend Kerouac from opinionated, insubstantial, religious criticism}
5.0 out of 5 stars
THE BEST of Kerouac's work,
By
This review is from: Some of the Dharma (Paperback)
He did not realize these notebooks would be published, so this is Kerouac at his very core. I have been an avid, hungry devotee of Kerouac's work not since reading On the Road, but since getting my hands of a copy of THIS BOOK. Some of the Dharma is the most inspirational book I own - dare I say even more inspiring than my Bible - his random poems about everything ranging from vulgar liquids all conjoined in your earthly body, to the serious issue of the Boddhisatva... Every writer, reader, English teacher, English learner should all read at least parts of this book at some point in their lives.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Changeless Time,
By NO FLAG (New Orleans, LA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Some of the Dharma (Paperback)
Glad to see kind folk jump in to defend a true literary master. One who is more commonly dismissed by the American scholastic establishment than overrated by it. Point blank-do a worldwide deity count and start at the beginning of human existence. Now divide that number by the ones who had a full grown beard, then by the ones who were left handed, and then by the ones who were lactose intolerant, and then ... ... with whatever flag, or president, or hockey player you just know is going to take the home team all the way this year. People, anyone that tells you that Christ & Buddha couldn’t have been similar better be one old son of a gun. If they read their Socrates they would know that the only thing we know about Christ is what got through the King James filter and ditto for Buddha and the innumerable self-serving(yuppie in the U.S.) translations of his teachings. Kerouac is great and should be cherished because of his amazing grasp on such material. It is this obvious understanding he has that makes him more guilty than most of us. Kerouac’s hypocrisy(or any other fault or sin) is more defined to the reader simply because the man understands where God stops & man starts within the confines of these doctrines. But I guess something like that would be too hard to understand if you think that general American academic establishment ...like T.S. Eliot is end of all literature.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
