On the Road cover art

On the Road

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On the Road

By: Jack Kerouac
Narrated by: Matt Dillon
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About this listen

Sal Paradise, a young innocent, joins his hero Dean Moriarty, a traveller and mystic, the living epitome of beat, on a breathless, exuberant ride back and forth across the United States. Their hedonistic search for release or fulfilment through drink, sex, drugs and jazz becomes an exploration of personal freedom, a test of the limits of the American dream.

A brilliant blend of fiction and autobiography, Jack Kerouac's exhilarating novel swings to the rhythms of 1950s underground America, racing towards the sunset with unforgettable exuberance, poignancy and autobiographical passion. One of the most influential and important novels of the 20th century, On the Road is the book that launched the beat generation and remains the bible of that literary movement.

©1957 Jack Keourac (P)2015 Audible, Inc
Classics Coming of Age Fiction Literary Fiction

What listeners say about On the Road

Average Customer Ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

awesome trip

an incredible history with a lot of adventure, intrigue you until the last pages definitely a must read

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Beautifully descriptive beat adventures

Matt Dillon's fitting narration takes us on the road with this unique, beautifully descriptive Kerouac classic. A pivotal piece of the post-war American subculture, the beat generation.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Good, but hard to follow.

I liked it, but I found it to be a challenging read. It's the prose style in which Jack Keruoac writes in that gives it its unique style but makes it feel like one long camp fire story.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Pop culture classic that surprised me.

Somehow I never got around to reading this Kerouac classic. It took a little to get into it but eventually marvelled at the characterisations and intimate visions of another side of America in the 50s and 60s. Glad I stayed the distance. it's classic road movie material.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Best book on Audible

Brilliantly written and a masterful performance.
One of my favourite books of all time.
Wonderful

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Dillon's performance made this for me.

A refreshed classic. This can be a difficult read due to the verbatim nature of the writing and particularly the insight into Dean's mind and style.

But the performance was excellent, it never felt read.

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8 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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fantastic reading of a classic, ejust wonderful!!!

fantastic reading of a classic work, beautiful tone and internation, just made listening purely wonderful!!!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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So many quotes

I love the assertiveness that the reader brings. The story triggered memories from my wild youth even though it was a different time a place.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Incomprehensible

Hard to follow. The mind of an meth head.
Might have been shocking at the time, but it's a boring story with no plot.

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7 people found this helpful

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

delivery leaves a lot to be desired

Story is awesome (a classic) but unfortunately the reader completely failed to do it justice. The delivery comes across stilted, terse and quite lifeless. It seems a little rushed and sounds like the reader is reading a list rather than a book.

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