Reviews for Atop an Underwood: Early Stories and Other Writings

The average rating for Atop an Underwood: Early Stories and Other Writings based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-06-29 00:00:00 Don Ross I'd definitely recommend this collection of early writings to Kerouac fans, more than 70 pieces he wrote between the ages of 13-21. As in On the Road, his writing here is more an expression of his philosophical approach to life, his values and his pursuits, rather than traditional story fiction. I quite liked more than a dozen of these, not a bad proportion for a writer's earliest stuff. Below are a few highlights, but I won't include many quotes, partly because the best quotes are the highlights of the book, not necessarily each piece as a whole. "Where the Road Begins": A vision of an 18 yr old college freshman parting from his family and leaving his hometown for the first time, somewhat sadly, on a train bound for the big city, and then eagerly returning at the end of the first semester, greeted joyously by family and friends. The gist is that you can go home again because there is never a final destination, that life is a circular road of experiences, but your home is where your spirit will forever reside, for it's where your soul and ideals were born. This idea of never a final destination matches Kerouac's approach to writing itself, making his writing purposely non-traditional, without the typical structure of a beginning, middle and final ending. Life is forever a series of experiences, a flow of life, and so endings are artificial, especially for an artist with undying passion. "There's Something About a Cigar": a one act play, before which Kerouac would supply cigars to the entire audience and demand that all the men actually smoke them while watching the performance. The women must at least light them and hold them up. The scene is on the green grass beside a swimming hole, with everyone in wet swimming trunks, all taking the time to enjoy each others' company and the relaxation of enjoying a cigar and a swim. The contrasting passage of Time is represented by a metronome and a roaring machine of some sort. Part of his message is that we're losing our humanity, our love for one another, and what's best for ourselves by being caught up in the rat race. Instead, he advocates a piece of the good life, less of making money, more shared experience, and the time to enjoy life somewhat care free. (In fact, the editor, Paul Marion points out that Kerouac once advocated a 3 hour work day, for more jobs and more time to appreciate life.) "God": In this piece, he says that God is our consciousness when we are attuned to the beauty of life and living. When we tend not to be present to the beauty of life, caught up in the struggles of modernity, that is when and how "the basic scheme of man has been neglected." Other pieces I enjoyed were parts of Go Back; Football Novella; Birth of a Socialist; No Connection - A Novel That I Don't Intend to Finish; Farewell Song, Sweet From My Trees; and Beauty as a Lasting Truth. Other topics he wrote about include family life, growing up in a mill town, train hopping, writing and writers, horse racing, baseball, football, jazz (with insight and knowledge), Buddhist ideas, partying, college, reminiscing, working, the merchant marines, etc. Overall, this is a valuable collection of early writings, put together by Lowell native Paul Marion, with a good introduction and individual prefaces that highlight Kerouac's writing influences (Thomas Wolfe, William Saroyan and Albert Halper, in particular) and his determination to be a prolific professional writer with artistic merit. I'd rate the book a 3 for the average reader, but a 4 if you have an interest in Kerouac.

Review # 2 was written on 2010-10-27 00:00:00 David Rivero Whenver I read Kerouac, I'm re-inspired to carry around a notebook and write whatever I see. Even early Kerouac speaks to me.