583 sats \ 12 replies \ @siggy47 7 Sep 2023 \ on: Daily discussion thread
Never play cards with a man called Doc. Never eat at a place called Mom's. Never sleep with a woman whose troubles are worse than your own.
Nelson Algren
Now I want to go and read ‘The Man with the Golden Arm.’ As if I don’t have enough to do!
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I read it for the first time about 45 years ago. I still think it might be my favorite novel. Pretty depressing, though. A Walk On The Wild Side is really good too.
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‘On The Road’ by Kerouac remains mine. But I love a good recommendation - thank you.
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I am a big Kerouac fan too. Visited his grave in Lowell a few times. I re-read it not too long ago and it didn't have the same impact for me as when I first read it. Either the world changed or I got too old.
Kerouac has some great quotes:
"Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain"
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Love that quote. I have seen the original scroll manuscript up close and it really is an amazing artefact.
Interesting point - I haven’t read it in around 10 years but I remember first reading it as a teenager and being blown away. I think we take different things when we reread books over the course of our lives.
Have you read the original (ie unedited) version? I found it an informative diversion but still prefer the story of Sal & Dean. Also enjoy his other books with Lonesome Traveller a favourite.
My top quote is an obvious one (and appropriate around these parts);
‘the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes “Awww!’
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No doubt his best quote. I don't remember how many times I read OTR, but the first time had the most impact. I even drove across the country with two of my friends in a crappy little Datsun (now Nissan). I don't know anything about the original version. You gave me something to explore.
I'm sure you read the Ann Charters biography?
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I have read a couple of biographies including the Ann Charters one and although they are informative around the details of his life and the real life characters; I enjoy the stories and adventures he recounts so much I almost don’t want to know the ‘truth’ other than how he portrayed it.
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You're right. His ability to romanticize what seems ordinary was a big part of his art. I had a college friend from Lowell. The Town and The City inspired me to read Thomas Wolfe. The Dharma Bums sent me down a little eastern religious rabbit hole.
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