Monday 17 December 2012
Thursday 13 December 2012
Who Is Dean Moriarty?
"There was nowhere to go but everywhere, so just keep on rolling under the stars."
"On The Road" is an American novel written by Jack Kerouac. I loved this book. I found the storyline fast paced and the language clever yet incredibly readable. The style of writing I really appreciated as it made it easy to dip in and out of the book, I don't have loads of spare time for reading at the moment and this is something which I require in a good read!
The theme of the story is essentially in the title, being "on the road". The protagonist Sal and his crazy friend Dean, travel all over America in search of something missing from their lives staying in one place.
I think the key quote of the book is "We know time." This simply refers to the sensation of realising mortality, realising how little time there is to do everything you want to, how Sal & Dean pack as many sensations into every day as they can, how they go about this by travelling. The book is set in post depression America. I've never been to America and it was fascinating to get a brief snapshot of each city.
Dean ends up having kids and several wives, whereas Sal looks on this with a rather detached viewpoint, and we as the reader have empathy for these women that he leaves scattered across the continent to bring up his children. He never has time for them, and pursues the endless horizon impatiently in search of new things, carelessly ignoring his dependents and instead using all his money on a car.
Jack Kerouac sums up the loneliness of life on the road succinctly in this novel, following the story firsthand from Sal's viewpoint of the ups and downs, the near misses with death, the desperate moments, the excitement, the variety of people, the unpredictability and the adventure. In one sense it makes you want to throw in everything and take off with your dreams, on the other it makes you incredibly apprehensive about all the bad parts!
Human relationships and hedonism are key themes, with "looking out for yourself in desperate situations" trumping friendship in certain cases throughout the book. It makes you think deeply about friendship and travels.
I haven't seen the film but I believe it is also a film now... However, I think the film would have to be brilliant to live up to expectation! A great read even if you have a hectic schedule, you can pick up this book in between things. Five stars.
"On The Road" is an American novel written by Jack Kerouac. I loved this book. I found the storyline fast paced and the language clever yet incredibly readable. The style of writing I really appreciated as it made it easy to dip in and out of the book, I don't have loads of spare time for reading at the moment and this is something which I require in a good read!
The theme of the story is essentially in the title, being "on the road". The protagonist Sal and his crazy friend Dean, travel all over America in search of something missing from their lives staying in one place.
I think the key quote of the book is "We know time." This simply refers to the sensation of realising mortality, realising how little time there is to do everything you want to, how Sal & Dean pack as many sensations into every day as they can, how they go about this by travelling. The book is set in post depression America. I've never been to America and it was fascinating to get a brief snapshot of each city.
Dean ends up having kids and several wives, whereas Sal looks on this with a rather detached viewpoint, and we as the reader have empathy for these women that he leaves scattered across the continent to bring up his children. He never has time for them, and pursues the endless horizon impatiently in search of new things, carelessly ignoring his dependents and instead using all his money on a car.
Jack Kerouac sums up the loneliness of life on the road succinctly in this novel, following the story firsthand from Sal's viewpoint of the ups and downs, the near misses with death, the desperate moments, the excitement, the variety of people, the unpredictability and the adventure. In one sense it makes you want to throw in everything and take off with your dreams, on the other it makes you incredibly apprehensive about all the bad parts!
Human relationships and hedonism are key themes, with "looking out for yourself in desperate situations" trumping friendship in certain cases throughout the book. It makes you think deeply about friendship and travels.
I haven't seen the film but I believe it is also a film now... However, I think the film would have to be brilliant to live up to expectation! A great read even if you have a hectic schedule, you can pick up this book in between things. Five stars.
Tuesday 11 December 2012
Seasons Greetings
What are your favourite ways to prepare for the festive season?
Christmas decorations are out in force and I'm feeling incredibly festive now, which is nice as it's only two weeks away. What I did this year was leave my Christmas shopping until December, which really helps to get me in the mood. I absolutely love choosing gifts for special friends and family. Doing it on a budget forces me to be creative.
It's also my other half's birthday just after Christmas and I'm really excited about his present this year. It's his 21st birthday, and I'm happy with what I chose, I just have to wait to see if he does! Photos to follow...
Our tree went up last night, my housemate, a conservationist, got it from Cannock Chase where she works free of charge. We've chosen a gold and red colour scheme, just the present wrapping to get done now!
Christmas pantos I love, being a kid at heart. I don't think I'll be going this year but you never know. I also love a Christmas carol service in the week before Christmas Day.
It's going to be Festive Friday in our office, I really want to be a Christmas fairy, but we shall see!!
Passionfruit xo
Christmas decorations are out in force and I'm feeling incredibly festive now, which is nice as it's only two weeks away. What I did this year was leave my Christmas shopping until December, which really helps to get me in the mood. I absolutely love choosing gifts for special friends and family. Doing it on a budget forces me to be creative.
It's also my other half's birthday just after Christmas and I'm really excited about his present this year. It's his 21st birthday, and I'm happy with what I chose, I just have to wait to see if he does! Photos to follow...
Our tree went up last night, my housemate, a conservationist, got it from Cannock Chase where she works free of charge. We've chosen a gold and red colour scheme, just the present wrapping to get done now!
Christmas pantos I love, being a kid at heart. I don't think I'll be going this year but you never know. I also love a Christmas carol service in the week before Christmas Day.
It's going to be Festive Friday in our office, I really want to be a Christmas fairy, but we shall see!!
Passionfruit xo
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