You might be tempted to see The Dharma Bums as a historical document rather than a piece of literature. Its characters (at least the poets) are based on real people. Ray Smith is “really” Jack Kerouac, Alvah Goldbook is Allen Ginsberg, Jophy Ryder is Gary Snyder, and so on. What the real-life counterparts did, as founding members of the Beat Generation and unwilling progenitors of the beatniks, had an impact on American culture, both literary and popular. Understanding these historical associations, however, is not essential to appreciating the book. You can read it like other fiction.
The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac. Viking Press (1958), 244 pp.
Ray Smith, peripatetic seeker after Dharma (the way of Truth in Buddhism) hops a freight back to San Francisco. He joins his friends on the fringe of the local literary scene just in time to attend a ground-breaking poetry reading. Planning to stay for awhile, he crashes with poet Alvah Goldbook in a dilapidated Berkeley cottage. Ray becomes buddies with another poet, Jophy Ryder, whose actions and understandings seem to transcend the usual talking and drinking of Ray’s other friends. In particular, Johpy’s spiritual approach to sex appears put him well down the road to enlightenment. Soon the two are preparing to take their quest outdoors in a hike up Matterhorn Peak at the northern edge of Yosemite.
This novel doesn’t have much in the way of plot. Stuff happens, then other stuff happens. The goings-on that might have been shocking in the 1950s are only of historical curiosity today. So it’s up to Ray, the first-person narrator, to make things interesting for modern readers. This he does not only by describing events themselves but also by relaying his experiences of the events. His responses run from the pedestrian (literally: sore feet) to the religious. The narrative style adds to the effect. Word usage and arrangement often seem child-like and guileless. The dearth of punctuation enhances a sense of spontaneity. References to Buddhist doctrine permeate the narrative but do not necessarily slow it down. The novel is a must for readers interested in the Beat Generation, but others just looking for something different might enjoy it as well.
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