> I didn't end up finishing the book, because it was all just too foreign a subject for me to get into.
Might I recommend starting it again? The beauty of the book has more to do with Wolfe’s writing style than anything else. And if you think about it, it’s not all that foreign. Much of it comes from the spirit and ethos of the Beats (with Neal Cassady at the wheel no less); it might help you get into what Wolfe is talking about by first starting with Kerouac. Once you get through his work, the Wolfe book will make perfect sense. I think if I hadn’t read Kerouac first, I might have felt the same way as you. I’ve found that the themes expressed in both Kerouac and Wolfe are quite universal, and can be found in many different cultures. Give it another try, it’s not as foreign as you might think.
See, the names Neal Cassady and Ken Kesey don't mean anything to me. I enjoyed the writing, but I think it was a story for people who knew the people involved. I honestly spent much of the time trying to decide if it was fiction or biography.
I do have On The Road on my list, I figure I'll give it a try. Also figured I should try Bonfire of the Vanities. Especially once I finish building the new vanity for the bathroom remodel.
It’s a time capsule, for sure. For me, the most compelling thing about the book is the strange dichotomy between the sober author dressed in his three-piece white suit on a bus with young hippies and old beatniks in 1964, trying to write it all down for posterity. That’s compelling when you start to look at the entire book from that POV. It couldn’t have been an easy task.
Might I recommend starting it again? The beauty of the book has more to do with Wolfe’s writing style than anything else. And if you think about it, it’s not all that foreign. Much of it comes from the spirit and ethos of the Beats (with Neal Cassady at the wheel no less); it might help you get into what Wolfe is talking about by first starting with Kerouac. Once you get through his work, the Wolfe book will make perfect sense. I think if I hadn’t read Kerouac first, I might have felt the same way as you. I’ve found that the themes expressed in both Kerouac and Wolfe are quite universal, and can be found in many different cultures. Give it another try, it’s not as foreign as you might think.