Customer Reviews

Subterranean Kerouac: The Hidden Life of Jack Kerouac

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Ellis Amburn's thesis is that Kerouac's personality and art were shaped by his struggle to reconcile his macho side with his latent homosexuality. His argument is not altogether convincing but thankfully it is basically a minor theme in what is otherwise an excellent biography. And Amburn's theme does raise valid unanswered questions about Kerouac's sexuality. Ginsberg's homosexuality is, of course, no secret, and both he and Kerouac acknowledge that there was some activity between them. And Neal Cassady's attempted hustle of the homosexual driver of the "fag Plymouth" in the motel scene in "On the Road" suggests that he was probably bisexual. But Kerouac himself is purposely vague on the details of his own homosexuality, so Amburn's interest is justified.
Anyone familiar with Kerouacs work, however, will likely have problems accepting Amburn's argument. Conflict over sexual ambivalence simply seems inadequate to explain Kerouac's obsession with life and death, joy and suffering, and man's relationship with God. Certainly Kerouac's loss of his brother Gerard at age 4 had a greater impact on his art than did reconciling whatever homoerotic feelings he had with his self-preferred image as a macho writer.
Many critics have apparently dismissed Amburn's book altogether. The fact that the chapters have been given ridiculously purple titles like "Muscles, Meat, and Metaphysics", and "Sucking Asses to Get Published" doesn't add much to the book's claim to respectibility. ButI found it a valuable and highly readable biography, which presents a picture of the author which I found more accessible and understandable than the Charters or Nicosia books. His research seems sound enough,and there are extensive notes and references, many from JK himself.
Amburn was Kerouac's last editor (he edited "Big Sur") and his comments on working with Kerouac are interesting in their own right, especially when he comes out and asks Kerouac just what he meant in certain ambiguous passages. He also presents numerous details that are omitted or glossed over in the other books, such as the details of the Kammerer murder and the exact nature of Bill Canastra's gruesome death during a subway prank. After reading his book I have a much better understanding of Kerouac's football career, the attraction he felt for Borroughs, and his comples relationship with his mother and with women in general. Details like this flesh out the picture, and do much to make Kerouac's personality more understandable.
I disagree with those who denigrate this book, and after two readings, it has become my favorite Kerouac biography. That Amburn's central thesis doesn't quite hold water (for me, at least) does nothing to lessen the value of this very enjoyable book.

This book is a tricky one.

It's interesting to read a work that was so elegantly written and thoroughly researched but with the obvious agenda to "out" a man who is already well-known to have been "bisexual" in his activities. A credit to the author is that he does freely admit Kerouac's love (and in fact preference) for beautiful women, but do we as readers really need a diatribe about how wholesome homosexuality is?

It's kind of a stretch to blame most of Kerouac's problems on his supposed conflict between hetero and homo leanings. Sexuality seems more a spectrum that is embraced by bisexuals, not a stark decision that must be made on either the "hetero" or "homo" side. Kerouac seemed to revel in his openness, not always torment over it! Obviously gays experienced much discrimination in the fifties and Kerouac probably felt a bit of this tension. Many readers do not need to hear so much about his sexual feelings/behaviors in general and grandiose psychological theories about the underpinnings of his conflicts and genius.

The substantive portions on Kerouac's strivings as an artist and goal toward publishing are very well-written and quite informative. I really felt that I was taken into the mind of this ambitious genius beat writer.

Amburn's discourses on his closeness to Kerouac did not upset me; they seemed like ingenuous efforts to convey his fondness for Kerouac.

The football content was treated thoroughly and reverentially, which I enjoyed. Also, Subterranean sheds much light on the real itinerant nature of Kerouac, his undying love for his mother, and a variety of other tidbits seemingly culled from trusted sources.

Mainly the book is intelligently written, engrossing, and the fact that it's pissing off a lot of people would have probably warmed Jack's heart.

This book meets my number one criterion for a biography about a person who is no longer with us (if you can ever justify writing one) - that it is written mostly objectively, and with a lot of respect. This one successfully does just that.

I'm raising a glass right now.

B. Wallace/author/Labyrinth of Chaos

Ellis Amburn's biographical account of Jack Kerouac is a phenomenal undertaking of this brilliant writer's life. To paraphrase, Kerouac insisted that he wrote the truth as he saw it. Kerouac's life story as Amburn writes it, is full of the lurid (Kerouac's homosexual past heterosexual & homosexual activity and substance abuse may far exceed the comfort level of readers) is an inverse tragic story -- Kerouac's genius could have taken him to the heights of one of the greatest American writers (& Kerouac would have thought so himself, too), rather than that of the Beat period. Amburn certainly conveys that sense of a broken promise in Kerouac. Amburn's research is meticulous, being that he was Kerouac editor; yet, his account of Kerouac is fond and the tone of the biography is that of a close friend. You will be heartbroken as you ride the crests and valleys of Jack's life. It has provoked my interest in reading other biographical accounts of Kerouac, as well my shelved copies of Kerouac's work.

I opened this book as a prejudiced reader, ready to dislike what I was sure would be Amburn's narrow-minded take on the writer, one more reduction of the artist through a filter of one more specialty school. Kerouac dissected by the scalpels of queer theory. I was delighted to find Amburn's immensely readable life of Ti Jean written with open mind and full heart. Satisfying in a way that few of the previous biographies have been, Amburn gives an authentic sense of a very complicated man across a busy and confused lifetime. No easy feat. The bonus is that Amburn also offers up tidbits from the archives unknown until now. (I was unaware that Kerouac once thought of merging Dr. Sax with On the Road and making the first novel the story of Sal Paradise's childhood). Clearly, the biographer cares about his subject even when he delineates Kerouac's failings in a clear-eyed, stinging fashion. There are fine insights into all the supporting cast of characters and its ever-shifting relationships (Burroughs, we learn, thought Cassady a low class con man. John Clellon Holmes suffered with his own alcoholic demons). The whole book is written in a pleasing, non-obtrusive style. Until Douglas Brinkley's official biography arrives, Amburn's book will do nicely to help sate the ever-expanding hunger for Kerouac studies.

I found this book interesting and illuminating in a gossipy sort of way. Amburn is obviously a writer in love with the genius of his subject, but appalled at the devastation alcoholism brought to Kerouac's life and art. The emphasis on his struggles with his homosexual tastes struck me as almost a side-bar to the tragedy of his alcohol abuse. Most of the characters come off as simply human and flawed, though some come off as sicker than others (Burroughs), while others come off as decidedly healthy (Snyder). In the end, the book made me want to read more Kerouac, and therefore I call it a success.

This is pure, addictive reading pleasure as it leaves no stone unturned in its investigation of Kerouac the author and Kerouac the man. Not only that, but it also sheds light on a whole generation of bohemians and contemporaries of Kerouac whilst providing valuable background and insight into the literary masterpieces produced by this generation that included William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Paul Bowles, Neal Cassady and many others. Their lives prove that the path of excess often leads to the most sublime literature. This book has stimulated my interest in the Beat writers all over again and I shall reread their classics once more, this time with a clearer understanding of the interpersonal relationships and mutual influences underlying the text. I believe Amburn's excellent book is indispensable for a thorough understanding of the Beats and is a brilliant reference work with its copious notes, extensive bibliography and thorough index. The text is enlivened by black and white photographs all the important people, places and documents that played a part in Kerouac's life. Impeccable scholarship and an engaging writing style combine to ensure a riveting read and a valuable reference source that I certainly will return to again and again.

Only the gullible would believe this slanted garbage. The sex list is a major break in the understanding of Kerouac, too bad Amburn tries to make him a one dimensional person. The main premise in the book is that Kerouac was afraid that his homosexual leanings would become common knowledge. In many interviews mentioned by Amburn, Kerouac talks about his homosexual activity. He shouted in a NYC bar that he had sex with Gore Vidal. The sexlist kept by Kerouac includes homosexual encounters. The more information Amburn gives about Kerouac's "fear" of being found out, the more laughable the book's premise becomes. Amburn's weak claim of being a friend of Kerouac (over and over he mentions that Vanity of Dulouz is dedicated to him) is amusing when compared to his own words about Kerouac and previous editor Robert Giroux, "Failing to realize that the author-editor relationship is strictly business, Kerouac had naively assumed Giroux to be his friend for life..." Amburn knew a positive book wouldn't sell so he took the low road and dug up a bunch of stale dirt.

this book ought to rank with the best of the kerouac biographies. while the noted ann charters bio (kerouac) isgood and the nicosia bio (memory babe) is one of the best it is this one that really gets into the seamier side of the beats and kerouac. this book by his former editor falls short though because of his constantly grinding his axe on homophobia and anti semitism that aside it is still one of the best

This was an excellent book that gives the reader an in-depth look at the so-called "Beat Movement" and its' major players. Depending on your point of view, they were either disturbed maniacs and sex-fiends who should have all been incarcerated or instruments of a new literary and social consciousness.

Amburn offers a fresh perspective on Kerouac since he served as his last book editor. The books is well-written, very complete, and contains several new insights about Kerouac that I hadn't seen elsewhere.

No single biography can do justice to Jack Kerouac, and I suggest you read several of them to balance out the facts -- and this book should be one of those you read.