Product Description

The novel that launched the beat generation’s literary legacy describes the world of Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and Neil Cassady. Drafted two months before Jack Kerouac began On The Road, Go is the first and most accurate chronicle of the private lives lived by the Beats before they became public figures. In honest, lucid fictional prose designed to capture the events, emotions, and essence of his experience among the Beats, Holmes describes an individualistic post–World War II New York where crime is celebrated, writing is revered, and parties, booze, discussions, drugs, and sex punctuate life. The most tentative and conservative of the Beats, Holmes’s intelligent and sensitive voice also details the pressures and regrets that his lifestyle gave birth to. With portraits of Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Neil Cassady, William Burroughs, this first novel about the Beat Generation gives us a peek into what it meant to be a Beat before the term had ever been used. "... still one of the best novels about the Beat Generation ... brilliant and important."—The Los Angeles Free Press " I want to write to you about ... your book. You did the honest thing, the big thing, the good thing."—Jack Kerouac "Go signaled the start of something new in American literature. A generation with a new consciousness had found its voice..."—Ann Charters

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #69389 in Books
• Published on: 2002-09-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 344 pages

Customer Reviews

Beat, but not
Holmes is generally considered to be a Beat novelist, but that label creates unfair expectations for those who have not read his work. In truth, Holmes' writing is a narrow bridge between writer's of the 30's and early 40's and the Beats. His style is reminiscent of Thomas Wolfe to an extreme--something Kerouac was guilty of in 'The Town and the City.' The problem with this novel is that Holmes wants so badly to chronicle the activities and attitudes of the Beats, but he can't pull it off stylistically. Kerouac's spontaneous prose was better suited for the subject matter and themes. This is why Kerouac, not Holmes, is generally considered the King of the Beats. Holmes' prose is dense with word illustrations and bland dialogue. Compare this with Kerouac's economy of words and beat-laiden dialogue, and you'll see why Kerouac's chronicles of the Beat Generation more fully capture the essence and spirit of the movement. If you truly enjoy Thomas Wolfe, you'll like Holmes. But if you're thinking 'Go' is anything like 'On the Road,' think again.

STOP! AND READ THIS BOOK
Whenever the immortal giants are discussed and associated with The Beat Generation the trinity of Kerouac, Ginsberg and Cassady top the list. After reading "Go" by John Clellon Holmes I feel he deserves some recognition. His story follows 4 major characters that howl through early 50's New York along with a cast of minor junkies, addicts and Hobbes' wife who can't decide what she wants. From smoky jazz clubs like The Go Hole and all night "tea" parties Hobbes(holmes), Pasternak(kerouac), Stofsky(ginsberg) and Kennedy(cassady) face life's situations and decisions with actions and reactions that portrayed most everyone who would become what is known as "The Beat Generation." And, as we all know, that was really the beginning of all that is hip, cool, far-out and trendy.

Go: a Beat journal
A hard to find novel, and one I thought would be as entertaining as it is legendary. However, I found myself for much of the book wanting to put it down. It had at times, the trite voice of another young author putting too many words to too many pages. While it is a good chronicle of Beat life, illuminating more truth than perhaps On The Road might even. And perhaps thats it failure... it failed to gloss over too many blasie days and focus on the story... Id say... if you love the Beats, read it. But if yr looking to find out more about the Beats, read the more popular works and leave Go for later. Finally, if you do read it, and you find yr self dosing as often as I, skip to page 270. Assuming you know the Beats, Holmes story starts here.