Brought to you by Penguin.
Jack Kerouac's classic novel about friendship, the search for meaning, and the allure of nature
A witty, moving philosophical novel, Jack Kerouac's The Dharma Bums is a journey of self-discovery through the lens of Zen Buddhist thought. This Penguin Modern Classics edition includes an introduction by Ann Douglas.
Following the explosive energy of On the Road, the book that put the Beat Genration on the literary map - and Jack Kerouac on the bestseller list - comes The Dharma Bums, in which Kerouac charts the spiritual quest of a group of friends in search of Dharma, or Truth. Ray Smith and his friend Japhy, along with Morley the yodeller, head off into the high Sierras to seek the lesson of solitude and experience the Zen way of life. But in wildly Bohemian San Francisco, with its poetry jam sessions, marathon drinking bouts and experiments in 'yabyum', they find the ascetic route distinctly hard to follow.
© Jack Kerouac 1958 (P) Penguin Audio 2021
1 of 2 copies available
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Creators
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Series
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Publisher
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Release date
May 20, 2021 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780241545980
- File size: 209645 KB
- Duration: 07:16:45
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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Actor and fiction writer Ethan Hawke narrates this classic novel with anarchic joy. He brings just the right slant, pace, and tone to this portrait of the 1950s Beat Generation. His narration exhibits the unrestrained enthusiasm that emanates from this autobiographical fiction. Protagonist Ray Smith (Kerouac's alter ego) studies Buddhism, befriends characters who are based on the poets Gary Snyder and Allen Ginsberg, and takes in the San Francisco poetry scene when not riding the rails or hitchhiking around the country. Hawkes immerses himself and the listener in the text, capturing the stream-of-consciousness prose. While some of the party scenes and the male chauvinism may seem dated, the sense of adventure and spiritual seeking never falters. A.D.M. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine -
September 29, 2008
Kerouac, Jack. The Dharma Bums: 50th Anniversary Edition. Viking. 2008. 187p. F~Kerouac followed up the 1957 smash On the Road with this novel. Though not as successful as Road, Bums introduced Buddhism and its ideas to the Beats, many of whom began following its traditions. This edition sports Ann Douglas's intro to the 2006 Penguin Classics paperback. Viking also is releasing a hardback of Jack's Wake Up: A Life of Buddha (see below).--Mike Rogers, LJ/LJX.
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