Customer Reviews

On The Road CD

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Just a note this time. I will not try to repeat what others have so clearly stated. This version of the work with Matt Dillon is amazing. I really enjoyed his vocal version of Dean. The reading of the work is clear and precise and studio perfect.

I'm very happy that this has finally been put out unabridged. David Carridine put out a version through Penguin in the mid-eighties on cassette, that was really fantastic as well, but was, unfortunately, abridged. Carridine's Sal Paradise was truer to the vocal spirit of Jack Kerouac, almost imitating him it seemed, which you won't find Dillon trying to repeat. Nevertheless it's entirely absorbing.

Some people have complained about Matt Dillon's "sluggish" reading in places with the material. I disagree with this sentiment vehemently. I believe the emotional honesty which you can hear from Matt Dillon's voice, shows that not only does he know the material, has listened to Kerouac's and Burroughs's past voice recordings but grasps the larger meaning of the words themselves, which is the true point of the book. He intonates like Jack without trying to imitate him ... which would really be a sin.

Well worth the money and the time spent listening.

Thank you, Matt Dillon.
Thank you, Jack Kerouac.

This review refers to the audio edition of "On The Road"(Unabridged) by Jack Kerouac....

Jack Kerouac's words and characters come alive in this outstanding read by Matt Dillon. Each character from the life loving "Sal Paradise", to the complex "Dean Moriarity" and all the colorful personalities we meet "On The Road" are given life as Dillon captures the essence of what Kerouac himself called the "Beat" generation.

Before there were Hippies or Yuppies, it was hip to be "Beat".The generation of writers, poets, artists, and musicians living Bohemian lifestyles yearning for knowledge,and enjoying life to it's fullest.

"On The Road", based on Kerouac's own travels, follows the adventures of Sal and Dean as they criss-cross North America, usually broke, trying to find themselves. They experience life, and lifestyles new to them and savor every moment. Every character they encounter touches their lives in some way, and adds greatly to this story. Kerouac's, zest for life and love of people becomes apparent and is contagious.His wonderful descriptive phrases leave you with fabulous images of the people, the places, and the times.I often found myself smiling or even laughing out loud.

This audio edition will have you spellbound. I listened to it every chance I got... while cleaning or working out, and became so engrossed I lost track of the time and my reps(my house is now very clean and my arms very toned!), and brought it with me every time I went somewhere in the car.

If you're looking for a great audio book, a story that pulls you in and a reader who will captivate you, this is one you should consider.I had a great time(Again) and wished I was there!

If the CD is the edition you want be sure that the ISBN on the product page is 0060755334(sometimes the reviews for all the different editions are mixed together).This unabridged edition is also available on cassette-On The Road (ISBN 0694523615). If interested in that edition please see my review of 9/13/03 for details),but in short I can tell you the tapes were an excellent quality as well.


"What's your road, man?".......enjoy...Laurie

A more perfect traveling companion cannot be found than Matt Dillon's reading of the unabridged ON THE ROAD. He captures the passion for movement that energized Keroac and all his learning-to-be-hip friends of the late 1940's. His voices of the main characters were on target. That was crucial to enjoying an audio book where dialogue, as much as narration, drives the story.
The pace of this reading fits beautifully with a trip across town, across the county, across the country. It makes riding in an auto the adventure it once was.

It was with some trepidation that I started listening to this, but am really glad I did.

Matt Dillon does a great job - his metre, tone, pacing and the the "world-weariness" in his voice are all just right in my opinion.

I enjoy listening to it almost as much as I enjoy reading the book.

Highly recommended.

I am a huge fan of both Keroauc and the audio book in general. I am glad this was unabridged. I have a copy of an abridged version that I downloaded a while ago, which cut out some of the flavor of the novel, I thought. However, I didnt care much for Dillons reading of it. It wasnt bad, just not nearly as good and natural sounding as the guy that read the abridged version. But, for the relatively low price of this ten disc set, and the pure enjoyment of the story, this is still a good deal.

I think most of the reading is excellent, just some short parts are less inspired, and maybe- but this is very personal - only the very first pages are not read in the mood I feel them in my soul. But the more you listen, the more you are caught in the reading and you realize the great work of actor Dillon has made and in a very spontaneous way.
Dillon's voice is full of colours and tones, the reading is rich in changes of speed, subtle shifting in mood. He succeeds in carving the characters from within in such a deep and honest way that they keep on living haunting you also when the reading is over. All the dialogues are performed in an outstanding way.
If English readers disagree, let me add that I am Italian and I had bought On the road long time ago but in English it was difficult for me and I didn't like the Italian translation. Though not English, I had felt the jazz wave of the writing and loved it. I felt a lot went lost in translation as if you cannot read Cesare Pavese in Italian, I guess.
So On the road had remained there on the shelf together with other not-yet-read books that are like friends I keep loving simply because I trust them.
What a surprise then when a lot of years later, while living in a country with a mysterious language, where English appears the only chance to subtitle reality and fiction, I found out that a reading of the whole book was available and the narrator was Matt Dillon, who has the perfect voice to embody On the road.
So thanks to Matt Dillon for driving me till the end of this journey of Kerouac's word in such an intense way, performing this jazz session of Kerouac right with the voice I had always imagined these lines would sound.
I don't know of any movie of On the Road. This is the kind of book that may frighten a director. However, listening to this reading I imagined it would be challenging with a director as Gus Van Sant or maybe Coppola or Scorsese, having Matt Dillon performing Sal or Dean, or even both, the last idea only if an enough visionary director/writer can somehow tell through the movie art how much Dean is part of Sal himself.

I urge you to listen to this superb but flawed classic if only to witness the emotional honesty of the underrated Matt Dillon's passionately versatile performance. The young actor would be inspired by the bravery and intangibility of genuine acting, if only Dillon's voice for Dean Moriarty.

The young novelist should also study this work for the promise and pitfalls inherent with the risk of composing a flow of uncorrected words. Truman Capote, another talent tortured by his alcoholism, was part right and wrong, when he complained 'That's not writing, that's typing.' Kerouac's glorious depictions of the beat lifestyle, how to listen to bebop, the energies of town and country, driving on the highway, and Dean Moriarty's elliptical syntax keep this work suspended in the heavens.

The author needed, however, to temper his stylistic bravery with the humility of relying on a brilliant editor. He cheats the reader and himself by cowering away from his inner life. Sal hides his past, despite disclosing Dean's. He also abandons his talent for describing the indescribable bond between lovers and friends after a first promising encounter with his future wife. Alcoholism can drive one to this despondently hopeful but closed world view, while ironically propelling one to the open road. But it is also usually foreshadowed by a confusing chaotic childhood. It is not enough to say that Kerouac was staying consistent with Sal's character, an observer of others who can't observe himself. A courageous novelist could reveal his secrets in a disarming, unpredictable, and deceptively unselfconscious way.

An editor would have also encouraged Jack Kerouac to scratch out the word "sad" and all its synonyms that stubbornly drip onto every page. Someone needed to convince him to trust the narrative, which bleeds sadness. To paraphrase Martin Buber, his characters have a relationship with and live in sadness; to give it a name kills its holiness.

This novel still rewards the reader enough, even if shortchanged by the end of the story , as the characters are with each other. Dillon, however, gives back more than what you paid. There's a lot to listen and learn On the Road with Jack, Matt, Sal and Dean.

First I read this as a teen. Even then I noticed that unlike most other books this was a work of art.

I ran into the audio book a few months back and instantly on popping it into my CD player, saw it was even more of a gift to listen to because Matt Dillon gave a great beat reading.

While the book stands on it's own as a beat masterpiece, I highly recommend the audio book for the additional beat feel. It's something I'll come back and re-listen to over and over again - a rarity for me. It's a long audio book but it's beat heaven.

Matt Dillion was terrific in this reading. I suppose it's a question of
tastes, however. I thought his portrayal of Dean Moriarity was so compelling and very, very funny. I felt I knew the characters after listening to this CD.

Matt Dillon was an excellent choice for this project. I never tire of this book and I have to say Matt reads this as flawlessly as if he were telling his own story from memory.
His performance is subtle as well as steller. Kerouac's absence from hollywood has made him a sort of conversation pitch, because if you don't know Jack you probably don't read very much.