Publisher Description

Kerouac's autobiographical account of his Beat years, new to Penguin Modern ClassicsJack Kerouac called Doctor Sax, the enigmatic figure who haunted his boyhood imagination, 'my ghost, personal angel, private shadow, secret lover'. In this extraordinary autobiographical account of growing up in Lowell, Massachussetts, told through his fictional alter ego Jack Duluoz, he mingles real people and events with fantastical figures to capture the accents, scents, sights and texture of his childhood- playing among the river weeds and railroad tracks, going to church, witnessing life and death on the street corners. Written when he was staying with William Burroughs in Mexico in 1952, Doctor Sax was Kerouac's favourite of all his books- a dark, vivid and magical evocation of a boy's vibrant inner life.

Notes

New to the Modern Classics range.

Author Biography

Jack Kerouac (1922-69) was an American novelist, poet, artist and part of the Beat Generation. Most of his life was spent in the vast landscapes of America or living with his Mother. Kerouac's best known works are On the Road and The Dharma Bums.

Review

Kerouac's best book * Time *
Spooky and tender with stretches of sheer phosphorescent fantasy, Doctor Sax has a vigour and a thirst for life ... one of the gems of modern literature * Rolling Stone *

Review Text

Kerouac's best book

Review Quote

Kerouac's best book

Details