Description
'The piteousness of his little soft shroud of hair falling down his brow and swept aside by the hand over blue serious eyes'
Described by Kerouac as 'my most serious sad and true book', Visions of Gerard forms the first volume of his memoir cycle the 'Duluoz Legend'.
Based on Jack Kerouac's memories of the beloved older brother who died when he was a boy, it is unique among his novels for its dreamlike evocation of the sensations of childhood - its wisdom, anguish, intensity, innocence, joy and pain. It is a haunting exploration of the precariousness of existence.
'Called a "pain-tale" by Kerouac, it's the story of an almost divine, Buddha-like child wracked with sickness and suffering' Guardian
One of the final works in Kerouac's 13-book Proustian memoir to join the Penguin Modern Classics.
About the Author
Jack Kerouac was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1922. Educated by Jesuit brothers in Lowell, he decided to become a writer at the age of seventeen and developed his own writing style, which he called 'spontaneous prose'. He used this technique to record the life of the American 'traveler' and the experiences of the Beat Generation, most memorably in On the Road and also in The Subterraneans and The Dharma Bums. His other works include Big Sur, Desolation Angels, Lonesome Traveler, Tristessa and a book of poetry called Mexico City Blues. Jack Kerouac died in 1969.
Reviews
My best most serious sad and true book yet. -- Jack Kerouac
Book Information
ISBN 9780241389010
Author Jack Kerouac
Format Paperback
Page Count 112
Imprint Penguin Classics
Publisher Penguin Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 89g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 6mm
