Kerouac, Jack. Big Sur . New York: Penguin Books, 1992.

This is Jack Kerouac's most telling work. For the first time he confronts his own alcoholism as a genuine problem. He continues his autobiographical adventures as the wanderer from On The Road . He vividly depicts his delirium tremens after a period of heavy drinking. The book ends with an impressionistic poem of the Pacific Ocean entitled “Sea.” Written 1961; originally published 1962.

Kerouac , Jack. Desolation Angels. New York: Coward-McCann, 1965.

This novel, written over a period of years, finally reached the publisher in 1964 and is considered the definitive voice of the Beat Generation. It is the story of Kerouac's life as told through Jack Duluoz, his fictional self, as he hitchhikes, walks, and talks his way around the world. Kerouac alternates between the fast-paced times in New York and San Francisco and the isolation he felt in 1956 during his three months as a fire watcher on Desolation Peak in the High Sierras. Written 1956-1961; originally published 1965.

Kerouac, Jack. The Dharma Bums . Cutchogue, NY: Buccaneer Books, 1976.

The Dharma Bums are searching for “Truth the Zen Way.” This novel of the Beat Generation published just a year after On the Road demonstrates the author's humor and zest for life. His characters go from wild drinking bouts to poetry jams, from the world of San Francisco to the solitude of the High Sierras, to a vigil on Desolation Peak in Washington State. Written 1957; originally published 1958.

Kerouac, Jack. Dr. Sax: Faust Part Three. New York: Grove Press, 1987.

Dr. Sax is a shadow-like creation of Jack Duluoz (Kerouac's persona) that haunts the adolescent fantasy world in which Jack and his friends G.J. Lousy, Vinny, and Scotty live as they are growing up in the mid-1930s.   Floating between memory and dream, Kerouac captures the essence of his boyhood adventures in Lowell, Massachusetts.   Written 1952; originally published 1959.

Kerouac, Jack. Lonesome Traveler. New York: Grove Weidenfeld, 1989.

This is Kerouac's first truly autobiographical novel.   In each section he relates various experiences and events in his life. The descriptive detail Kerouac uses when he talks about his job as a railroad brakeman in California and his page-long sentences are characteristic of his jazz-like prose. Written 1960; originally published 1960.

Kerouac, Jack. Maggie Cassidy. New York: Penguin Books, 1993.

Although it was written earlier than On the Road , this novel was only recognized after Kerouac's “overnight success.” First titled Springtime Mary, Maggie Cassidy recounts the story of Kerouac's first love with his high school sweetheart in the late 1930s. The young lovers learn that “happily ever after” is not always the ending to the story. The author deftly captures the joy and awkwardness of adolescent love. Written 1953; originally published 1959.

Kerouac, Jack.   On the Road. New York: Penguin Books, 1991.

This classic novel has had a profound impact on three generations of writers, artists, musicians, and poets. In this touchstone for the Beat Generation, “Sal Paradise” (Kerouac) and “Dean Moriarity” (Cassady) seek self-knowledge as well as pleasure, sex, drugs, and adventure on the open road. Written 1951; originally published 1957.

Kerouac , Jack. Pic. In Satori in Paris & Pic . New York: Grove Press, 1985.

This meandering tale of the adventures of an eleven-year-old black boy and his older brother was started in 1950, but set aside until 1969. At that time a final chapter, which abruptly changes the direction of the novel, was added. Written 1950; originally published 1971.

Kerouac, Jack. Satori in Paris. New York: Grove Press, 1966.

While on a search for his identity, or at least the origin of his surname, Kerouac experiences a “satori” (the Japanese word for sudden awakening or sudden illumination). The reader is treated to a ten-day expedition in Paris, where the author visits bars, libraries, and even questions taxi drivers seeking information about his family. Written 1965; originally published 1966.

Kerouac, Jack. The Subterraneans. New York: Grove Press, 1981.

Kerouac chronicles his brief love affair with Mardou Fox, a young black woman.   Although this took place in New York City, he changed the locale to San Francisco to protect the identities of some of the characters. He chose San Francisco because it was becoming a very “hip” place to be. Written 1953; originally published 1958.

Kerouac, Jack. The Town and the City. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1950.

Published in 1950, this is Jack Kerouac's first novel. Written in a traditional style, it is the story of his family from the early 1900s to the years following World War II. He uses an interesting literary technique where, at different ages, each of the five boys in the family experiences the actual life events of Kerouac himself.   There is an in-depth account of the Thanksgiving football game where Kerouac single-handedly won the game against his school's arch rival. This event provided him with a football scholarship to Columbia, where he met Ginsberg, Burroughs, and Cassady. Written 1946-1948; originally published 1950.

Kerouac, Jack. Tristessa. New York: Penguin Books, 1992.

Tristessa is the portrait of a young prostitute with whom Kerouac had an affair amidst the squalor of the drug underworld of Mexico City. It was written in two parts, during visits to Mexico in 1955 and 1956, and is one of 12 books written between the completion and publication of the On the Road in 1957. Written 1955-1956; originally published 1960.

Kerouac, Jack. Vanity of Duluoz: An Adventurous Education, 1935-46 . New York: Coward-McCann, 1968.

This narrative is made up of recollections of Kerouac's life from his high school football years to his time at Horace Mann Preparatory School and Columbia University. This autobiographical novel also describes his years on a merchant freighter during World War II and his subsequent return to New York. After his father's death, he immersed himself in writing his first published novel, The Town and the City. Written 1968; originally published 1968.

Kerouac , Jack.   Visions of Cody.   New York: Penguin Books, 1993.

Written in radical experimental form, this work of spontaneous prose goes far beyond any of Kerouac's other works, including On the Road.   By the time it was published in 1972, this book had become an underground legend.   In an excerpt called “The Tape,” Kerouac meticulously transcribes an audiotape made while sitting with Neal Cassady over several days in his Nob Hill, San Francisco kitchen.   Written 1951-1952; originally published 1972.

Kerouac, Jack. Visions of Gerard. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1976.

Gerard was Kerouac's older brother who died of rheumatic fever at the age of nine.   With the possible exception of Kerouac's mother, Gerard had the greatest influence on the writer's life.   In this book, Kerouac focuses on his early childhood (he was four when Gerard died) and the emotions he felt during and after his brother's tragically short life. Written in 1951-1952; originally published 1958.

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