Reviews

Doctor Sax by Jack Kerouac

marisatn's review against another edition

Just could not do it. Kerouac is not for me. 

duparker's review against another edition

3.0

I'm not quite sure if I liked this or tolerated it. I think that were half stars an option, I would have given this 2.5. It was interesting and at times engrossing. Other times it was hard to follow, nonsensical and childlike. I get that it is a story from Kerouac's childhood, or rather a story set in his childhood, but overall it was good to read it to be complete, but it wasn't a standout.

rocking's review

challenging dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

jrc2011's review against another edition

4.0

I pulled a 1959 copy of Doctor Sax off my shelf for my two-day hot springs retreat - I don't remember how I ended up with it, but the spine looked like it had never been cracked, despite some water and sun damage on the ends of the pages. I tore through it in less than two days -- Kerouac's prose rushes on in a torrent, I can surf it in my brain as quickly as my eyes take it in. Reading aloud to the cat named Elvis, I enjoyed the rhythm and the cadence of Kerouac's words even more.

The stories of his childhood - a brown bathrobe, a flood, scaring oneself silly with shadowy characters inspired by radio dramas, acting out a rich fantasy life (stealing swim trunks and scaring a friend as "The Black Thief") along with the flavor of French-Canadian French. The story focuses little on technology or current events - aside from the flood - and makes only one mention of racial segregation.

Despite the lack of current events -- the protagonists rich fantasy life reflects some kind of battles, heroes and villains, reflected in the current events of the time without really referring to those events -- more generalized than specific foes.

A fast fun read - definitely a different take on the same sort of privileged white male preadolescence in "Dandelion Wine" or other similar stories.

pandarius_pinkman's review

sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

witchboyofboston's review against another edition

5.0

My fave Kerouac work. The blend of the supernatural and bizarre secondary story blends supremely with the primary story of life in Lowell. I highly recommend going on one of the night tours during the Kerouac festival after reading this one.

agataherbata's review against another edition

adventurous challenging reflective slow-paced

5.0

may be the most beautiful thing i have ever read, captures childhood and boyhood in the way that i can only compare to tom sawyer but with kerouac’s own sensibility that draws me in head-first every time

emma_ireland's review against another edition

2.0

REALLY wanted to love this, but no. It was dire. An extra star for occasional lines that stood out from the page like those 3D pictures we spent ages squinting at in the 90s. Although, in retrospect they might just have been spots of coherence in this MASSIVE INCOMPREHENSIBLE RAMBLE. In its favour, a lot of the chapters are mercifully short.

caixlin's review against another edition

4.0

absolutely incomprehensible unless you have explicit knowledge of the 4 block radius of lowell that he’s talking about and also the Merrimack river, but luckily, I have both!

wobimenahan's review against another edition

challenging reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5