''Big Sur'' is a 1962 novel by Jack Kerouac, written in the fall of 1961 over a ten-day period, with Kerouac typewriting onto a teletype roll. 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, California, owned by Kerouac's friend and

Beat poet The Beat Generation was a literary subculture movement started by a group of authors whose work explored and influenced American culture and politics in the post-war era. The bulk of their work was published and popularized by Silent Generatione ...

Lawrence Ferlinghetti Lawrence Monsanto Ferlinghetti (March 24, 1919 – February 22, 2021) was an American poet, painter, social activist, and co-founder of City Lights Booksellers & Publishers. The author of poetry, translations, fiction, theatre, art criticism, an ...

; at the same time dealing with his increased drinking and declining

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental hea ...

. It is Kerouac’s first novel to be fully written following his success in the late 1950’s, and thus departs from his previous fictionalized autobiographical series in that the character Duluoz is shown as a popular, published author; most of Kerouac's previous novels instead portray him as a

bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

traveller.

Synopsis

The novel depicts Jack Duluoz's mental and physical deterioration in the late 1950s. Despite having found mainstream success with his work, Duluoz is unable to cope with a suddenly demanding public, and is battling advanced alcoholism. He seeks respite first in solitude in the cabin at Big Sur, on the California coast, and later in a relationship with Billie, the mistress of his long-time 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 San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, he drunkenly embarrasses Cody by introducing Billie to Cody's wife, and finds himself unable to emotionally provide for the increasingly demanding Billie (who proves to be mentally unstable herself) and to integrate into suburban life. On Duluoz’s third and final trip to Big Sur, he brings friends Dave Wane and Româno Schwartz (

Lew Welch Lewis Barrett Welch Jr. (August 16, 1926 – May 1971?) was an American poet associated with the Beat generation literary movement. Welch published and performed widely during the 1960s. He taught a poetry workshop as part of the University of C ...

and

Lenore Kandel Lenore Kandel (January 14, 1932 in New York City – October 18, 2009 in San Francisco, California) was an American poet, affiliated with the Beat Generation and Hippie counterculture. Biography Her first works of poetry were the chapbooks '' ...

), along with Billie her son Elliot. The peaceful trip soon goes afoul when Duluoz’s inner turmoil culminates in him having several

panic attacks Panic attacks are sudden periods of intense fear and discomfort that may include palpitations, sweating, chest pain or chest discomfort, shortness of breath, trembling, dizziness, numbness, confusion, or a feeling of impending doom or of losing ...

. The group leaves the following day. An addendum to the book contains a

free verse Free verse is an open form of poetry, which in its modern form arose through the French '' vers libre'' form. It does not use consistent meter patterns, rhyme, or any musical pattern. It thus tends to follow the rhythm of natural speech. Defi ...

poem by Kerouac, "Sea: Sounds of the Pacific Ocean at Big Sur", written from the perspective of the Pacific Ocean.

Character key

Kerouac often based his fictional characters on his friends and family.Sandison, David. ''Jack Kerouac: An Illustrated Biography.'' Chicago: Chicago Review Press. 1999

Film adaptation

A film adaptation of the novel, directed by

Michael Polish Mark Polish and Michael Polish (born October 30, 1970), known informally as the Polish brothers, are American twin screenwriters and film producers. Michael usually directs their films, and Mark often has an acting role. Life The Polish brothe ...

, was released in 2013. The cast includes

Jean-Marc Barr Jean-Marc Barr (born September 27, 1960) is a French-American film actor and director. He is best known for working on several films from Danish film director and frequent collaborator Lars von Trier since ''Europa'' (1991). Early life and ed ...

as Kerouac,

Josh Lucas Joshua Lucas Easy Dent Maurer (born June 20, 1971) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in various films, including '' American Psycho'' (2000), '' You Can Count on Me'' (2000), '' The Deep End'' (2001), '' A Beautiful Mind'' (2 ...

as Neal Cassady,

Radha Mitchell Radha Rani Amber Indigo Ananda Mitchell is an Australian actress. She started her career with various appearances on Australian television, including a regular role as Catherine O'Brien in the soap opera ''Neighbours'' (1996–97). Mitchell la ...

as Carolyn Cassady,

Henry Thomas Henry Jackson Thomas Jr. (born September 9, 1971) is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor and had a lead role in the film ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (1982), for which he won a Young Artist Award and received Golden Globe ...

as Whalen, Anthony Edwards as Ferlinghetti,

Balthazar Getty Paul Balthazar Getty (; born January 22, 1975) is an American actor and musician. His acting debut was in ''Lord of the Flies'' (1990) as Ralph. He went on to appear in '' Lost Highway'' (1997) and had a recurring role as Richard Montana in ''Cha ...

as McClure, Patrick Fischler as Welch, and Stana Katic as Kandel.Stephen Baldwin
"Cast set for film adaptation of Kerouac’s Big Sur,"
''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...

'', April 15, 2011.

References

External links

Summary and analysis of novel
* ttps://www.flickr.com/photos/29873672@N02/sets/72157607303986010/detail/ Gallery of ''Big Sur'' book coversbr>''Big Sur'' at the Internet Movie Database
{{Kerouac 1962 American novels American novels adapted into films Novels by Jack Kerouac Novels set in California Novels about alcoholism