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The Dharma Bums

by Jack Kerouac

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markusnenadovus recommends On the Road by Jack Kerouac, "More great Kerouac"

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▾Member reviews

English (24) Finnish (1) Dutch (1) All languages (26)

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Showing 1-5 of 24 (next | show all)

'The Dharma Bums' is probably a more solid work than 'On the Road.' (

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cschack | Oct 5, 2009 |

Kerouac here deals with the search for meaning in Buddhism. (

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GlenRalph | Jul 13, 2009 |

Not my all time favorite Kerouac but it has moments that sparkle. (

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elissajanine | Jun 14, 2009 |

The Dharma Bums (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) by Jack Kerouac (2006)

Francostudies | Feb 5, 2009 |

Reading Kerouac is like talking with a friend. I really hate his sex scenes though -- the yabyum scene with the 20-year-old Princess, "Ryder" and his lust for his own sister -- bleagh. Just when I felt like giving up, though, he'd go off an a blissful description of trees, boulders, or conies and I'd be loving the book again. (

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Megi53 | Jan 17, 2009 |

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Series (with order)

Canonical Title

Original publication date

People/Characters

Important places

San Francisco, California, USA

Berkeley, California, USA

Sierra Nevada Mountains

Bridgeport, California, USA

Matterhorn Peak, California, USA

(show all 6 items)

Important events

Awards and honors

HarperCollins 100 Best Spiritual Books of the Century

Epigraph

Dedication

Dedicated to Han Shan

First words

Hopping a freight out of Los Angeles at high noon one day in late September 1955 I got on a gondola and lay down with my duffel bag under my head and my knees crossed and contemplated the clouds as we rolled north to Santa Barbara.

Quotations

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Blurbers

▾References

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (3)

Bibliography of Jack Kerouac

San Francisco Renaissance

The Dharma Bums

▾LibraryThing members' description

Book description

▾Book descriptions

Amazon.com (ISBN 0140042520, Paperback)

One of the best and most popular of Kerouac's autobiographical novels, The Dharma Bums is based on experiences the writer had during the mid-1950s while living in California, after he'd become interested in Buddhism's spiritual mode of understanding. One of the book's main characters, Japhy Ryder, is based on the real poet Gary Snyder, who was a close friend and whose interest in Buddhism influenced Kerouac. This book is a must-read for any serious Kerouac fan.

(retrieved from Amazon Fri, 24 Apr 2009 07:58:05 -0400)

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