The Dharma Bums Audiobook By Jack Kerouac cover art

The Dharma Bums

Preview
Try for $0.00
Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Dharma Bums

By: Jack Kerouac
Narrated by: Ethan Hawke
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $15.75

Buy for $15.75

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

About this listen

Jack Kerouac’s classic novel about friendship, the search for meaning, and the allure of nature

First published in 1958, a year after On the Road put the Beat Generation on the map, The Dharma Bums stands as one of Jack Kerouac's most powerful and influential novels. The story focuses on two ebullient young Americans - mountaineer, poet, and Zen Buddhist Japhy Ryder, and Ray Smith, a zestful, innocent writer - whose quest for Truth leads them on a heroic odyssey, from marathon parties and poetry jam sessions in San Francisco's Bohemia to solitude and mountain climbing in the High Sierras.

©1958 Jack Kerouac (P)2020 Penguin Audio
Action & Adventure Biographical Fiction Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Inspiring
adbl_web_global_use_to_activate_T1_webcro805_stickypopup

Critic reviews

"In [On the Road] Kerouac's heroes were sensation seekers; now they are seekers after truth...the novel often attains a beautiful dignity, and builds towards a moving climax." (The Chicago Tribune)

"In his often brilliant descriptions of nature one is aware of exhilarating power and originality...the entire cast of characters is presented with that not unrefreshing blend of naivete and sophistication that seems to be this author's forte." (The New York Times Book Review)

"Full of sparkling descritions of landscape and weather, light falling through trees, the smell of snow, the motion of animals...Jack Kerouac is a writer who cannot be charged with dullness." (The Atlantic)

Featured Article: 25+ Quotes About the Power of Kindness


Kindness is the quality of being considerate, compassionate, generous, gentle, and caring towards others without expecting anything in return. Often described as a virtue, kindness is also a strength—in fact, it may be one of humanity's greatest superpowers. Whenever you need a little encouragement or gentle reminder, turn to these quotes from authors who understand the power of kindness and express it quite remarkably.

Beautiful Prose • Vivid Adventures • Lively Narration • Spiritual Journey • Natural Descriptions • Perfect Voice Casting
Highly rated for:
All stars
Most relevant  
I Enjoy this book every time. Great voice and story momentum. It is a great read or listen.

Always Timely If You Have the Time

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Pure humanistic spiritual experience in prose. Kerouac is king and who better to read him than Ethan Hawke? This is one book I will revisit again and again for the sheer beauty and eloquence of its boyish adventure in these three men and what their kinship in nature brought to them and us through through the voice of this gifted poet. A treasured gem.

What a journey!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

The Dharma Bums had a profound impact on me when I was a teenager.
Really enjoyed Ethan Hawke’s reading!

Loved revisiting this book .

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

On all fronts, this audio book is a work of art, a treasure. Kerouac’s writing flows like fresh air. Ethan Hawk’s narration is an absolute gift. Fully impassioned and brings out all of the juices that embody Jack’s writing. Bravo!

WOW. TOAL PHENOMENAL.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

dharma bums is the type of book that influenced culture and defined peoples ideals without their knowing it. very good 👍

yup

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Amazing and fulfilling experience. Listened to this story while driving and walking the Santa Cruz and Los Gatos areas. Ethan Hawke must read for On The Road!! His dramatic skills will transport to a place that resides deep within this story. Bravo Ethan!!!

Ethan Hawke + Jack

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

This was my first Kerouac book, and I'm hooked! It was the escape from this modern world I badly needed! Hawke's narration was perfect and his voice well suited for the story. Highly recommend!

New Kerouac and Hawke fan!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I loved this performance. I wish all the pronunciations of Sanskrit words were better researched and enunciated (hearing them pronounced incorrectly took me out of the experience). Overall, great!

A classic sorry, well told.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Absolutely wonderful performance of a transcendent work. As someone who has. hiked and worked in many of these places described in the book, this performance brought me as close to these beautiful and enlightening experiences as I could have imagined. Well done!

I have been to these places, and Kerouac with Hawke reading brings me back.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

This was my first exposure to Kerouac's writing (though I'd known the name seemingly forever) and I am now looking forward to reading more of his work.
The narration of this audio book was superb.

A pleasant and enlightening story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

See more reviews