I'm nearly finished with Jack Kerouac's "On the Road". I thought it would be a good entry into the works that people like Bob Dylan and considered so inspiring.
However, I find myself wondering about its inspirational value. Before each of his road trips, Sal has this unbounded hope and expectation as to what each new destination will bring him. And each experience and city is indeed exciting for a short time before becoming stale. He even revisits cities that he hated with the expectation that things would be different the next time. And they weren't.
The book strikes me as an honest look at how humans operate. We expect so much from the things we don't have but quickly tire of new toys and adventures. It doesn't inspire me to strike out on the road but rather to reevaluate my expectations about life and friendships and new experiences.
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