Big Sur (novel)
 First edition cover | |
| Author | Jack Kerouac |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | Duluoz Legend |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus and Cudahy |
Publication date | September 11, 1962 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 256 |
| ISBN | 0-14-016812-5 |
| OCLC | 26089403 |
| 813/.54 20 | |
| LC Class | PS3521.E735 B5 1992 |
| Preceded by | Lonesome Traveler (1960) |
| Followed by | Visions of Gerard (1963) |
Big Sur is a 1962 novel by Jack Kerouac. It recounts the events surrounding Kerouac's (here known by the name of his fictional alter-ego Jack Duluoz) three brief sojourns to a cabin in Bixby Canyon, Big Sur, owned by Kerouac's friend and Beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti. The novel departs from Kerouac's previous fictionalized autobiographical series in that the character Duluoz is shown as a popular, published author. The Subterraneans also mentions Kerouac's (Leo Percepied) status as an author, and in fact even mentions how some of the bohemians of New York are beginning to talk in slang derived from his writing. Kerouac's previous novels are restricted to depicting Kerouac's days as a bohemian traveller.
Synopsis
The novel depicts Duluoz's mental and physical deterioration. Duluoz is unable to cope with a suddenly demanding public, and is battling advanced alcoholism. He seeks respite first in solitude in the Big Sur cabin, then in a relationship with Billie, the mistress of his longtime friend Cody Pomeray (Neal Cassady). Duluoz finds respite in the Big Sur wilderness, but is driven by loneliness to return to the city, and resumes drinking heavily.
Across Duluoz's subsequent trips to Big Sur and interleaved lifestyle in San Francisco, he drunkenly embarrasses Cody by introducing Billie to Cody's wife, cannot emotionally provide for the increasingly demanding Billie, and finds himself increasingly unable to integrate into suburban life. Duluoz's inner turmoil culminates in his nervous breakdown during his third journey to Big Sur.
An addendum to the book contains Kerouac's poem "Sea: Sounds of the Pacific Ocean at Big Sur".
Character Key
Kerouac often based his fictional characters on friends and family.[1][2]
"Because of the objections of my early publishers I was not allowed to use the same personae names in each work." [3]
| Real-life person[4] | Character name |
|---|---|
| Jack Kerouac | Jack Duluoz |
| Neal Cassady | Cody Pomeray |
| Carolyn Cassady | Evelyn |
| Lawrence Ferlinghetti | Lorenzo Monsanto |
| Allen Ginsberg | Irwin Garden |
| Lenore Kandel | Româna Swartz |
| Robert LaVigne | Robert Browning |
| Michael McClure | Pat McLear |
| Jackie Gibson Mercer | Willamine "Billie" Dabney |
| Albert Saijo | George Baso |
| Gary Snyder | Jarry Wagner |
| Alan Watts | Arthur Wayne |
| Lew Welch | Dave Wain |
| Philip Whalen | Ben Fagan |
| Victor Wong[5] | Arthur Ma |
Film adaptation
A film adaptation of the novel, directed by Michael Polish, was released in 2013.[6][7][8] The cast includes Jean-Marc Barr as Kerouac, Josh Lucas as Neal Cassady, Radha Mitchell as Carolyn Cassady, Henry Thomas as Whalen, Anthony Edwards as Ferlinghetti, Balthazar Getty as McClure, Patrick Fischler as Welch, and Stana Katic as Kandel.[9]
References
- ^ Sandison, David. Jack Kerouac: An Illustrated Biography. Chicago: Chicago Review Press. 1999
- ^ Who’s Who: A Guide to Kerouac’s Characters
- ^ Kerouac, Jack. Visions of Cody. London and New York: Penguin Books Ltd. 1993.
- ^ Wills, D. 'Who's Who: A Guide to Kerouac's Characters', in Wills, D. (ed.) Beatdom Vol. 3 (Mauling Press: Dundee, 2009); Available online
- ^ Pulley, M: The last days of Victor Wong Sacramento News & Review, September 18th, 2001
- ^ Xan Brooks, "Jack Kerouac's Big Sur heads to the big screen," The Guardian, April 18, 2011.
- ^ "'Big Sur': Kerouac Adaptation Film Cast Announced," Huffington Post, April 15, 2011.
- ^ Wyndham Wyeth, "Jack Kerouac's Big Sur to Get Film Adaptation," Paste, April 18, 2011.
- ^ Stephen Baldwin, "Cast set for film adaptation of Kerouac’s Big Sur," National Post, April 15, 2011.