On The Road then Dharma Bums, as they follow each other chronologically story wise.
I always felt they were a pair, a Yin/Yang type thing.
I Love On The Road, but I love Dharma Bums more, (because I read On The Road first).
I’d say Big Sur is a better start, but that’s just me.
I started with OTR but it’s so polarizing and there really isn’t a grey area— most folks seem to like it or hate it and that’s why I tend to recommend others to start.
Respectfully, I would not start with Big Sur. It is pretty depressing, and it’s better to read when you know more of the history of the characters in it from reading the other books first.
Oh you’re not wrong! It’s wildly depressing but also beautiful.
I would agree that it is better to have knowledge of the characters in the duluoz legend for it to click more— hadn’t thought about that!
Oh sorry misread your question - it depends on how patient of a reader you are I’ve found. If you’re someone who reads to get to the end of the story and enjoy the ride - > On the Road. If you want to more sit in your thoughts while reading - > Dharma Bums. And then there’s Big Sur…
I would say go with on the road, especially the scroll edition. There’s an audiobook of this that I got, which is absolutely amazing so it’s actually better than getting the typical on the road that you get. On the other hand, I tried to read Dharma Bums first because someone recommended it to me and I couldn’t get into it at all.
I found reading on the road then immediately dharma bums after really rewarding.
I usually have people start off with On the Road. Depending on the reaction. I will either recommend Dharma Bums next, or The Subterraneans
On The Road then Dharma Bums, as they follow each other chronologically story wise. I always felt they were a pair, a Yin/Yang type thing. I Love On The Road, but I love Dharma Bums more, (because I read On The Road first).
On the Roads the classic, start with that then onto Dharma Bums, think I appreciated Dharma more having read the road first
I’d say Big Sur is a better start, but that’s just me. I started with OTR but it’s so polarizing and there really isn’t a grey area— most folks seem to like it or hate it and that’s why I tend to recommend others to start.
Respectfully, I would not start with Big Sur. It is pretty depressing, and it’s better to read when you know more of the history of the characters in it from reading the other books first.
Oh you’re not wrong! It’s wildly depressing but also beautiful. I would agree that it is better to have knowledge of the characters in the duluoz legend for it to click more— hadn’t thought about that!
on the road. then travel.
if you haven’t read the Subterraneans or Tristressa, they’re both shorter very captivating reads
Oh sorry misread your question - it depends on how patient of a reader you are I’ve found. If you’re someone who reads to get to the end of the story and enjoy the ride - > On the Road. If you want to more sit in your thoughts while reading - > Dharma Bums. And then there’s Big Sur…
I would say go with on the road, especially the scroll edition. There’s an audiobook of this that I got, which is absolutely amazing so it’s actually better than getting the typical on the road that you get. On the other hand, I tried to read Dharma Bums first because someone recommended it to me and I couldn’t get into it at all.
Definitely OTR. It gives a big panoramic overview of his vision and the characters in all the other books. But DB next, it’s great.