Big Sur Audiobook By Jack Kerouac, Aram Saroyan - foreword cover art

Big Sur

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Big Sur

By: Jack Kerouac, Aram Saroyan - foreword
Narrated by: Ethan Hawke
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About this listen

A poignant masterpiece of wrenching personal expression from the author of On the Road and The Dharma Bums.

In this 1962 novel, Kerouac's alter ego, Jack Duluoz, overwhelmed by success and excess, gravitates back and forth between wild binges in San Francisco and an isolated cabin on the California coast where he attempts to renew his spirit and clear his head of madness and alcohol. Only nature seems to restore him to a sense of balance. In the words of Allen Ginsberg, Big Sur "reveals consciousness in all its syntactic elaboration, detailing the luminous emptiness of his own paranoiac confusion".

©1962 Jack Kerouac (P)2020 Penguin Audio
Biographical Fiction Classics Genre Fiction Emotionally Gripping
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Brilliant Writing • Captivating Narration • Engaging Storytelling • Poetic Prose • Animated Reading • Gravelly Tone
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Well performed but dark story. Enough to make one consider give up drinking or at least be more careful.

Dark

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Disgusting, green, madness is that. A warning to all the loafers to get out and do something useful.

Big Sur is beautiful.

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E. Hawke was made to narrate Kerouac. What can I say, it's JK,
5 stars.

It's Kerouac. 5 stars

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Dear Publishers: this is just amazing! Please keep producing more from Kerouac and keep up with Ethan Hawke, Hawke was born for narrating this- a match in heaven, pure inspiration transcended from Kerouac thru Hawke. I’m sad it’s over (Sur and Dharma Bums). Desolation or On The Road next pleeease.

YES! PLEASE MORE

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Kerouac got a lot of eye rolls out of me this time. Maybe it’s because his writing style isn’t that unique anymore. Hey it happened to the Beatles. Still amazing and entertaining.. but there will never be a better high than your first one. Furthermore, regardless of the bounty of good and bad Beatles or Van goph or Kerouac imitations, as important as the art itself was the vibe of the era of the art… fart bart simpson swampson Sampson Sampsonite.

The performance though?! Hawk slays.

Inside sounds of a madman

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A little bit of the absurd is good for the sole and mind. The performance of this read lives up to the legend. Read it and take a walkthrough a short history of California lore.

A must for the sole

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Following Kerouac into his drunken tail spin is heart wrenching. You can almost smell the port wine is his ramblings. The narrator has the perfect indignant tone to capture Kerouac's paranoia. This is just a phenomenal story and very pleasant to listen to, albeit incredibly depressing.

Tragedy in paradise

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The writing is brilliant, but what is it about? Alcoholism? Madness? Hedonism? The poison of fame? Yes, pretty much... I had to keep reminding myself that his work is the archetype of this narrative style. He has been so imitated that the original almost feels like a pastiche. The narration is great and the language sounds wonderful with Hawke's narration. Maybe that's enough.

Brilliant writing...

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Kerouac forever! Ethan Hawke is perfect, his reading is gravelly and animated. Also his reading of Dharma Bums, which is what I listened to first. I can listen to these recordings the way I play music, repeating and looping from anywhere, getting the stories mixed.

Dark, lonely, longing

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Could not enjoy this book at all because of the readers performance .. he read fast and in a horse whisper that might have been appropriate for don parts . But he uses on tone and rythem throughout.. had to quit .

Readers voice was annoying whisper thst was unbesree as now ..

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