The Dharma Bums

Last night I finished reading the book The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac, which was first published in 1958. The novel opens in October 1955 and concerns aspiring writer Ray Smith who makes his way to San Francisco where he meets poet and Zen Buddhist Japhy Ryder. Enthused by Ryder's beliefs and philosophies, Smith joins him on his mountain-climbing expeditions in the High Sierras. However, Ray soon finds his devotions to the simple life sorely tested by the marathon poetry readings, wine-fuelled orgies and wild, three-day parties that make up bohemian life in San Francisco. It is an autobiographical book. All the characters are loosely disguised real people. Kerouac himself is Ray Smith and Japhy Ryder is poet Gary Snyder. Kerouac's friend and fellow "Beat Generation" luminary Allen Ginsberg appears as Alvah Goldbook, and an early scene describes the famous Six Gallery poetry reading at which Ginsberg first performed his classic poem Howl (which is named "Wail" in the book). There's not much of a story to it but the book does contain some truely beautiful writing, and there are some amusing anecdotes of Kerouac's adventures hitch-hiking across America. The book is reviewed at Permanently Weird.

I was back at work today, and it was pretty much an average dull day. I was doing an "Environmental Awareness" test that apparently everyone has to do at work, and I got 92%. It really wasn't a difficult test at all. I also have all of next week off work! I've got a lot of annual leave left and I'll lose a lot of it if I don't use it by the end of March, so that should be fun.

I got home at around quarter past six and had a microwaved chicken and bacon pasta bake ready meal, which was quite nice. I've seen the main Oscar results. The King's Speech got four awards. I've not seen that movie. Although I was glad that Natalie Portman got the Best Actress nomination for Black Swan. I think she deserved it.