I hated Jack Kerouac’s On The Road when I read it in my early teens. I expected a carefree romp that would glamorize and endorse antinomian adventures such as I hoped to have. Instead I found a disorienting and melancholy book—all hangover and no high.
In ” The End of the Road ” (October 2008) our features editor, R.R. Reno, suggests that it is precisely this note of melancholy that reveals the greatness of the book. I’d tell you more about his intriguing line of thought, but I’d rather you read for yourself.
While I have you, can I ask you something? I’ll be quick.
Twenty-five thousand people subscribe to First Things. Why can’t that be fifty thousand? Three million people read First Things online like you are right now. Why can’t that be four million?
Let’s stop saying “can’t.” Because it can. And your year-end gift of just $50, $100, or even $250 or more will make it possible.
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