Big Sur (novel)


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 three brief sojourns to a cabin in Bixby Canyon, Big Sur, California, owned by Kerouac's friend and Beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti. The novel departs from Kerouac's 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 traveller.

Synopsis

The novel depicts Duluoz's mental and physical deterioration in the late 1950s. 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. 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, he drunkenly embarrasses Cody by introducing Billie to Cody's wife, and finds himself unable to emotionally provide for the increasingly demanding Billie and to integrate into suburban life. Duluoz's inner turmoil culminates in a nervous breakdown during his third journey to Big Sur.
An addendum to the book contains a free verse poem by Keroauc, "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.
Real-life personCharacter name
Jack KerouacJack Duluoz
Neal CassadyCody Pomeray
Carolyn CassadyEvelyn
Lawrence FerlinghettiLorenzo Monsanto
Allen GinsbergIrwin Garden
Lenore KandelRomâna Swartz
Robert LaVigneRobert Browning
Michael McClurePat McLear
Jackie Gibson MercerWillamine "Billie" Dabney
Albert SaijoGeorge Baso
Gary SnyderJarry Wagner
Alan WattsArthur Wayne
Lew WelchDave Wain
Philip WhalenBen Fagan
Victor WongArthur Ma
Lucien CarrJulien

Film adaptation

A film adaptation of the novel, directed by Michael Polish, was released in 2013. The cast includes Jean-Marc Barr as Kerouac, Josh Lucas as Neal Cassady, Radha Mitchell as Carolyn Cassady, Henry Thomas as Whalen, Anthony Edwards as Ferlinghetti, Balthazar Getty as McClure, Patrick Fischler as Welch, and Stana Katic as Kandel.