Doctor Sax

Rating:
Summary: Intense Imagery and humorous sketchings
Review: Another great novel by the master of Beat. In this book Kerouac takes us thru the town of Lowell, centering around Christ-like pneuma Sax as his tutelary spirit. Many biblical symbols often appear, somehow transforming the novel to holy scriptures. When reading Dr. Sax I discover that writing can be comical and at the same time perceptive. A must read.

Rating:
Summary: Journey through Time
Review: Jacks Dr Sax represents his thoughts,feelings and fantasies throughout his early years in Lowell. Masterfully told through pre-birth, present tense and future tense, Dr Sax weaves a tangled web of delight to those who take the plunge into the River called Kerouac. The chapter "The Night The Man With The Watermelon Died" is worth the price of admission alone. Thank God for Kerouac a good companion throughout lifes troubled waters.

Rating:
Summary: Lowell superheroes
Review: These are stories from Kerouac's childhood. The writing resembles that of the later Henry Roth. Among other things, each man wrote of boys swimming in the river and the magic highlighted style gives the reader the sense of swimming, too, a not alltogether positive experience in the built-up industrial areas described. Kerouac's writing is vigorous and interesting. Dr. Sax is a mythic, half real, half unreal character, something, someone, looming up, derelict. Dicky Hampshire wrote on a fence that Jack is a big punk, and so on and so forth. The community described is comprised of many French-Canadians and French terms and phrases are used. As to the swimming in the Merrimac River, it was polluted in those days prior to World War II in the area near Lowell. Kerouac writes of a silent Boott Mills, horse racing, marble playing, and ghosts. There is bowling at the social club. Movies and funnies get the attention of the children, boys, friends of Ti-Jean. Family names mentioned include Duluoz. Dr. Sax in a shroud stands on the shore. The castle is a heap of stones. The Shadow Magazine is of significance in the book. Flooding in the area sometime in the thirties is described. The boys go to Paul's porch in a rowboat.

Rating:
Summary: Lowell superheroes
Review: These are stories from Kerouac's childhood. The writing resembles that of the later Henry Roth. Among other things, each man wrote of boys swimming in the river and the magic highlighted style gives the reader the sense of swimming, too, a not alltogether positive experience in the built-up industrial areas described. Kerouac's writing is vigorous and interesting. Dr. Sax is a mythic, half real, half unreal character, something, someone, looming up, derelict. Dicky Hampshire wrote on a fence that Jack is a big punk, and so on and so forth. The community described is comprised of many French-Canadians and French terms and phrases are used. As to the swimming in the Merrimac River, it was polluted in those days prior to World War II in the area near Lowell. Kerouac writes of a silent Boott Mills, horse racing, marble playing, and ghosts. There is bowling at the social club. Movies and funnies get the attention of the children, boys, friends of Ti-Jean. Family names mentioned include Duluoz. Dr. Sax in a shroud stands on the shore. The castle is a heap of stones. The Shadow Magazine is of significance in the book. Flooding in the area sometime in the thirties is described. The boys go to Paul's porch in a rowboat.

Rating:
Summary: Highly Spiritual
Review: This book is a creeper. A few months after you read it, you will realize that you love it. Kerouak mentions the conceptualization of Dr. Sax in On the Road, where JK's main character talks about a book he is writing, and mentions the ultimate scene in Sax. The story is full of visuals that stay in the mind. Inspiration from Bram Stoker is evident, and mixes with old radio serials adventure. A coming of age story that is comic book, before comic books were cool, and with a fantastic ending that is unexpected and thought provoking. A wonderful read every time.

Rating:
Summary: The Art of Jazz Writing
Review: This book is Keroauc sitting in on a mean late night
jazz jam session, writing and reciting verse while all
those around him are blowing madly. It is very
different from the mainstream Keroauc where he
talks about writing in this style. This book is the
style as it spins a story in and out of the rhealm of
the waking consciousness and reminds me of the way I
feel like after listening to some classic Miles.
Read this book and let in linger in your mind for a
while, it has that kind of depth to it.

Rating:
Summary: Naked Kerouac
Review: This book is powerful and honest. Coming out in the same year as Burroughs' Naked Lunch the two works bear many striking similaruites. Compared to the other works by Kerouac I've read (On the Road, The Dharma Bums and parts of Maggie Cassidy, Subteranean angels) this book seems strikingly different. The work that Jack and Ginsberg did on the Heroin infested Burroughs' scriblings to come up with the powerhouse work, Naked Lunch, must have had a tremendous effect on Jack. This work shares the disragard for the line between fantasy and reality, a compelte self indulgeance of the writer (I can see Jack with his reams of paper, just clacking away, howling with leerie laughter like the Shadow) and a dedication to storytelling and imagination that Naked Lunch displayed. for a whilrwind read fest, try to digest the two in succession.

Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable, but difficult
Review: This is one of Kerouac's more interesting titles. It is a bit hard to follow at times and one must almost read it aloud in parts to understand the thought. He used nouns as adjectives, ones you wouldn't expect. This can be disorienting, but when read aloud the rhythm comes alive and Kerouac's intended voice can be heard. It deserves more than three stars, but it can seem overwhelming at times so I dock it points for that.