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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
strictly for the kerouac scholar, March 15, 2002
Let me start off by saying that I'm a Kerouac junky. I have read every book by and about the man. Now, having said that I would like to turn my attention to Orpheus Emerged. As an early Kerouac novel it is fascinating to see how far he advanced. Even the leap from this book to The Town and the City (his first published novel) is pretty amazing. But this book is a failed attempt as a novel. The characters are boring and painfully one dimensional, and the dialogue is flat and uninspired. Many a page is dedicated to long conversations about art, philosophy, etc. that lead nowhere and do nothing to service or advance the story. Speaking of which, the story centers around a group of young college guys, their girlfriends, and their screwed up lives. That's pretty much the gist of it. There's no real drama, conflict, or anything else to move the story forward. The only conflict that does arise leaves you scratching your head, as it is never explained. It was probably as big a mystery to the author as it is to the reader. There is no discernable plot as far as I can tell, which leads me to believe that the young Kerouac (who then signed his name John Kerouac) didn't plan out the novel beforehand. Some journal excerpts printed in the back of the book show brief breakdowns of the first four chapters but they're very vague and deal more with what the characters are going to do rather than plot out the narrative. All in all it's a very disappointing novel. I know that Kerouac was only twenty-three when he wrote this and that I should cut him some slack. But look at the Rum Diary, a novel that Hunter S. Thompson started when he was twenty-two, and you'll find a much more mature, developed novel (though it too has its problems, by no means am I calling that one a masterpiece). If you're an aspiring writer or a Kerouac junky I'd suggest picking this up so you can track his growth as a writer. If you're a moderate Kerouac fan or just a fan of literature in general, I'd have to suggest the town and the city. His real first novel.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wholeness plus Vision, May 9, 2006
A literary artefact that is intriguing as it reveals a writer at the beginning of his career, concerned with topics and issues that Kerouac would explore for the rest of his life. Although not in the familiar `spontaneous prose' style and endless stream of consciousness, often taken as difficult to follow and understand by some readers, this novella is written in the third person and well structured. As it is a short piece, the characters are not fleshed-out as they could be, which is really only possible in a full-length novel. That said, however, the two lead characters, Michael and Paul, are developed enough to sustain the plot. Overall, Orpheus is an absorbing tale about the nature of the artist or poet in their search for truth and purity of artistic vision.
Kerouac's Orpheus is the merging of two types of individuals, archetypes if you will: Michael is the tortured genius, with an imagination conducive to writing poetry, however, he is so serious and self absorbed, single minded, that he is incapable of being happy. A young man with a fine-tuned conscience, when he transgresses, he feels tremendous guilt and wallows in self-pity. Michael's relationships with the older woman, Maureen, lacks spark, and his affaire with Maria, falls flat because Michael cannot feel true love for himself or anybody else.
Paul is Michael's opposite, a roving poet-vagabond, in love with knowledge and life. Kerouac characterizes him as a genius of love and life. Paul's actions are spontaneous, humorous and driven by a devil-may-care attitude to just about everything. One day, after an altercation with Michael, he disappears for a week, and tells his friend's that he has been "Lying on the wet grass eating only fruit", which personifies the carefree, romantic wandering poet.
Written during that early time at Columbia University, when the young Kerouac first meets Alan Ginsberg and William Burroughs, we can perceive these men in some of the characters in Orpheus: enthusiastic bohemian types, learning philosophy, writing poetry and prose, listening to Brahms and drinking copious amounts of wine.
The novel ultimately is about the artist/man in search of a genuine aesthetic vision a `new vision' and the attainment of wholeness as the artist/man - there is a merging of types, and the success of this goal is the attainment of `wholeness plus vision' the `ideal' of the true artist.
This novella was by no means a disappointment, because, although a young work, Kerouac and his life long concerns are all included here.
Recommended to all Kerouac readers and students.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Jack, Emerged, August 6, 2005
Sadly, it's been over a year since I read any Kerouac. Whenever I walk into a new library or used book store I judge them on how much Kerouac they carry. This tells me how intelligent they are. If there is a boatload of Kerouac on the shelves, every novel they could possibly have ordered, I know the people running the show know what is going on. If there are a few random books on the shelf, for instance, one copy of Good Blonde and one copy of On the Road, I know they are bordering on clueless.
The latter would be why I picked up this book, which is no reflection on the book, but to be honest I may not have chosen this one if they had some others I was itching for on the shelves. There were about three to chose from, and this is what I brought home.
"Orpheus Emerged" was written when he was in college, having just met some of his closest friends and starting to really discover himself and the art/music/words that surrounded him. It has the same undertones as his other books...fast paced dialogue, incoherent interactions at parties, hard pressed obsession towards poetry and its territory.
Although the women pose as ornaments, just as in his other novels, they seem to take on more importance in the way of having effect on the men they are involved with and the lives they are a part of. You don't learn much about them, as usual, but their effects are easily outlined.
I hesitate to say that Jack would fall short of much but this book might be one of the few examples of a lack of prose. The dialogue is purely colloquial while the story has more premeditation than would otherwise be expected. It's a short, enjoyable read and it is fun to see the beginning of his progress. I would say this book is more for someone who has already declared their love, rather than a first time reader. You can sense the potential in it, like the foundation for what is to come.
"Those books!", a character named Paul exclaims, "If only I had time to read them, and more. This morning, after I lost my job, I went to the University Library itself, and do you know, there were hundreds of thousands of books there I honestly felt I should read! And the ideas that rush through my mind. The impatience I feel! The time running off like sand. Ah...."
Yeah, Paul....I know what you mean. My thoughts, on paper, written by the genius himself. When his talent was just a seed planted in the soil of this novella.
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