Visions of Gerard

This short novel is Kerouac’s touching tribute to his older brother Gerard, who died at the age of nine when Jack was only four. It’s an idealized view of Gerard, who is painted as a saint, instructing his younger brother in lovingkindness to all creatures, and it’s undoubtedly formed from half-memories and family folklore given Jack’s age at the time the events of the novel takes place.

Clearly Gerard was an altruistic youth, but I think the novel is also a reflection of Jack’s own better nature, the one he aspired to throughout his life. He would later say that Gerard was his guardian angel, and in the novel says that the reason he wrote was because of Gerard; one gets the sense that Gerard was a constant presence to show more Jack.

Written in 1956, 30 years after Gerard’s death (and then published in 1963), the novel is imbued with the sentiment of a lost time in addition to his lost brother, and also Kerouac’s budding Buddhist beliefs; Sasmsara, the repeating cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth is mentioned several times. It’s as if Kerouac is both sad for the death of his saintly brother and happy that he was no longer suffering, and on the path to his next life. I think it’s how the adult Kerouac tried to rationalize the loss, while remembering his mother clinging to her Catholic faith, and his father drinking and gambling. Meanwhile, he paints an interesting, honest picture of life in the French-American community of Lowell, Massachusetts in 1925-26.

There are a few places where Kerouac goes off the deep end with his beat style and he is rough in this grammar throughout, but that comes with the territory, and as in his better works, he is true to his memories, feelings, and the people around him, and delivers an emotional impact. show less

Holy Gerard. Angel, saint, Jesus reincarnated! Amazing artistic talent and superior intellect! So kind and loving! Perfection at the age of nine! Ridiculous...

One hundred and thirty pages rambled on like this, with a little bit about his dad’s night out, gambling and drinking. Gerard tames animals and birds, gives words of heeling to all, and deals out thoughtful philosophy at the drop of a hat. This book was so over the top with praise for his brother that I could barely muscle through it. So much effusive sentimental clap-trap, I could hardly believe it was published. This story is almost as bad as his poetry.

So I've been reading Kerouac's poetry after running across Michael McClure's article proclaiming that Kerouac's greatest achievement was not his novels but his poetry. I've been...well...disappointed. Maybe I am just not a poetry enthusiast.

Suffice to say, returning to Kerouac's prose, I remember why I love his writing. A "novel" seems to provide (me) the needed anchor of story and characters, and I can then follow (and appreciate) Kerouac's improvisations around the theme. He seems less cutesy and more sincere; less out to impress and more writing his heart out. This, right in the midst of the opening scenes:

Would I could remember the huddling and the love of these forlorn two brothers in a past so distant from my sick aim now I show more couldn't gain its healing virtues if I had the bridge, having lost all my molecules of then without their taste of enlightenment.

Wow, yes! Some beautiful writing here. Looking forward to the next novel in the Duluoz legend, Dr. Sax. show less

This was a decent Kerouac novel, but I feel it did not capture the intensity and meaning that his other works have. Nevertheless, the development of character was striking in this one. It seemed like parts of it were not as structured and wowing as I have seen demonstrated in the rest of Kerouac's oeuvre. Still, it was a decent Kerouac book and I still think it's important and, due to its very minimal length, should still be read for those interested in his work.

3.25 stars.

The first book of Kerouac's fictionalized autobiography to be published was the one to become his legacy - On the Road. But Visions of Gerard is his best book, if not in terms of his writing, at least in its emotional impact. The book tells the story of his French-speaking family in Lowell, MA, when he was only 5 and his sickly brother died at age 9.

An amazing blend of Catholic upbringings with Buddhist influences superimposed, Visions of Gerard gives us two saints lost - Gerard himself, and the man that Jack wanted to be but never could.

If you like Kerouac, read this and know Kerouac a little better.

While this book is notorious for being pretty unique to the Kerouac canon and standing out because of that, while there are those who do like this book, as a Kerouac fan, naturally I've read it a couple of times, but honestly, it does little for me, the writing feels ... I guess not at all like his later works, and I really prefer quite a few other books of his. Nonetheless, an important read for the Kerouac fan. Casual readers? I'd avoid it and I certainly wouldn't start with this. It's difficult for me to justify even giving it three stars, but I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt because I'm biased for him. At least I'm honest about it! ;)

The Legend of Duluoz I (1963): A sad yet beautiful prose poem but also the evocation of a time and place - 1920s Lowell, Massachusetts. Very poignant.