Work has slowed down considerably since the conclusion of last Monday’s meeting. I’ve been helping out mainly with small tasks, such as photocopying and updating visitation schedules in Excel. Still, I can’t believe that three weeks have passed by so fast, and I’ll be sad to leave on Friday.

I finished Jack Kerouac’s On the Road today in one sitting today. It’s the kind of book that’s extremely hard to put down after you start reading. And I now realize why it’s considered one of the defining works of the Beat generation. The desperate yet contagious sense of restless as portrayed by the main characters Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty reflects the mentality of an entire generation (“the Beatniks”) that grew up in the aftermath of WWII. Their story, which Kerouac narrates brilliantly, is one of humor, exuberance, and profound sadness. Kerouac brings to life the unceasing sense of restlessness felt by many of the country’s young men and women at the time, as well their tireless wanderings and cross-country treks (often on little or no money at all) in search of some ultimate purpose or object (what Dean refers to as the “IT”) that for many never materialized.

It you have never encountered any literature from the Beat generation, then I highly recommend this novel. It’ll probably be unlike anything you’ve ever read before, but Kerouac’s writing style and superb character development (especially of the “mad” Dean Moriarty) will certainly make On the Road a quick read.