The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac Reviewed by Steve Rudd

He doesn't need any money... all he needs is his rucksack. There really was no end to Jack's writing talents after all! This is the fifth book of his that I've had the pleasure of reading, and it is by far and away my favourite. When you get to the top of a mountain, keep climbing. Packed with all the excitement of his classic masterpiece On The Road, this follows Jack on the road in a similarly enthralling manner that makes the reader want above all else to join him on his journeys of self-discovery.

The Dharma Bums has Jack closely chronicle yet more travelling adventures, and in particular a prolonged stretch of solitary confinement that he put himself through atop Desolation Peak, when he worked up in the mountains as a fire lookout in case a blaze ripped through the forests below. He also makes mention to such a time in his Lonesome Traveller collection of short job-&-travel-entwined stories. I see, somewhat breathlessly said Jack, a vision of a great rucksack revolution thousands or even millions of young Americans wandering around with rucksacks, going up to mountains to pray, making children laugh and old men glad, making young girls happy and old girls happier.

Much of this book focuses on how he got hooked on being a spiritual man and life-enhancingly philosophical, as he brazenly indulges in meditation and the like - all in the name of chilling out. In his best poetic voice, Jack excites the senses with his unabashed enthusiasm for living life to the full without fail. His writing style quite simply is utterly spellbinding. Sociability is just a big smile. That may be. But one thing that is for sure is the fact that Jack Kerouac really does seem to have been one of the most truly incredible writers of the 20th Century. First published in 1958. ISBN 0-14-004252-0

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