2013 Reads: Nine {Satori In Paris - Jack Kerouac}

My dad and I took a trip to Paris in the Spring of 2010 while I was on Spring Break from my MA program. It was lovely. Seriously. Paris in the Springtime. It really doesn't get any better than that. The weather was lovely, the sights were beautiful, and the food was delicious. What more could you ask for?

Well, a stop in the most well known book store in Paris, probably, if you're me. So after a morning at Notre Dame de Paris (which is amazing and awe inspiring, by the way), we hauled across the river to the adorable little bookstore named Shakespeare and Company. Which looks exactly like how I'd want my bookstore (if I ever own one) to look: floor to ceiling bookshelves, tables everywhere, books on every available surface (even the floor), and enough order to potentially find what you're looking for, but not enough to stop you from stumbling onto something you didn't know you wanted to read in the first place. A place where you can actually discover, serendipitously, the right book for you at the right time.

And that's exactly how and where I picked up my copy of Satori in Paris by Jack Kerouac. I even still have the receipt tucked in its pages!

Satori in Paris is an autobiographical account of Kerouac's soul searching trip to Paris. Always boastful and proud of his French-Canadian heritage, Kerouac set off to Paris in search of the details of his family's history and lineage. Instead he found out a lot more about himself and life. The book is a series of short, pithy chapters chronicling his late nights spent in dive bars around Paris, the women he met and loved, the money he lost, and the all night conversations and misadventures that ensued. While in Paris Kerouac was constantly on the go. Moving from one place to another, one bar to another, and one story to another. And, somewhere in the middle of this hectic trip, Kerouac experiences a satori, or a life-changing event of sorts. He spends the whole book reminiscing on his trip and trying to put a finger on the moment when this change happened. Though it is uncertain when exactly his satori happened, Kerouac reminds us, what matters is that it did happen, and life is no longer the same.

It was a perfect purchase, really. A book about having one of those life changing moments in Paris picked up while I myself was in Paris. I couldn't justify not buying the book.

Was it my favorite book? Nope.
Was it my favorite Kerouac? Not by any means.
Did I enjoy reading it? For the most part.

It's hard to review books like these. I sometimes have a hart time with reading beatnik books like these. The language takes time to adjust to, as does the lifestyle described. But once I get past that I can let go and enjoy the story for the sake of the story. But this one was harder for me. Really, I was glad for how short it was and was anxiously awaiting the last page. It was choppy and quick to change (as, I imagine, was the point since his trip was choppy and quick to change), and it was hard to keep interested from change to change. And there really wasn't a "beginning" and an "end" other than: Kerouac gets to Paris.....Kerouac leaves Paris.

But that's just how he writes. I get it. He's the guy who's known for this sort of thing

But I was still left wanting a little more from this novel.

Title: Satori in Paris

Author: Jack Kerouac

Genre: Non-fiction; Memoir; 

Medium: Paper Back

Pages: 109

Date Read: 13 February 2013

Source: Purchased at the Shakespeare & Company Bookstore in Paris (April 2010)

First Line: Somewhere during my ten days in Paris (and Brittany) I received an illumination of some kind that seems to've changed me again, towards what I suppose'll be my pattern for another seven years or more: in effect, a satori: the Japanese word for 'sudden illumination,' 'sudden awakening,' or simply 'kick in the eye.'

Favorite Line: Yet this book is to prove that no matter how you travel, how 'successful' your tour, or foreshortened, you always learn something and learn to change your thoughts. 

Last Line: When God says 'I Am Lied,' we'll have forgotten what all the parting was about. [whited out, for spoiler's sake]

Recommended: Yes (if you know what you're getting into with Kerouac) but No (if you need a story with an actual plot and resolution). 

Recommended For: Those who love Kerouac and the Beat Generation,

Challenges: Goodreads, Off the Shelf Challenge, TBR Pile Challenge