The Dharma Bums

Written by Jack Kerouac

Narrated by Ethan Hawke

Jack Kerouac’s classic novel about friendship, the search for meaning, and the allure of nature

“In [On the Road] Kerouac’s heroes were sensation seekers; now they are seekers after truth . . . the novel often attains a beautiful dignity.”—Chicago Tribune

First published in 1958, a year after On the Road put the Beat Generation on the map, The Dharma Bums stands as one of Jack Kerouac’s most powerful and influential novels. The story focuses on two ebullient young Americans—mountaineer, poet, and Zen Buddhist Japhy Ryder, and Ray Smith, a zestful, innocent writer—whose quest for Truth leads them on a heroic odyssey, from marathon parties and poetry jam sessions in San Francisco’s Bohemia to solitude and mountain climbing in the High Sierras.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Audio
• Release date: Feb 4, 2020
• ISBN: 9780593165270

Jack Kerouac

<B>Jack Kerouac</B> was born in 1922 in Lowell, Massachusetts. The best-known of his many works, <I>On the Road</I>, published in 1957, was an international bestseller. He died in St. Petersburg, Florida, at the age of forty-seven.

Reviews for The Dharma Bums

[diegogt0 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is one of those books that left me amazed; I didn't expect so much from it. Quite the opposite, it is a book full of wisdom from beginning to end. It is a pleasure to share everything that Ray gets to know and learn throughout his travels, mountains, camps, wines. I wish I could be alongside him and Japhy, a great person, a true sage. That way of approaching life is truly an art. Full of philosophy, this book made me remember many precepts I had been forgetting due to the daily grind of life. I am sure that whoever reads it will end up with a sense of harmony, something very scarce lately in our beloved books. (Translated from Spanish)

[AleksGinsberg · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I have read it in English, and I must say that it conveys the rhythm much better that the author had when telling stories. He was a magnificent writer. (Translated from Spanish)

[Guayo Guara · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

DON'T STOP READING IT. It was the first book I read by Kerouac and 30 years later I’m still repeating and bothering my friends with a phrase that I want to share with you today: "When I grow up I want to be a vagabond of the Dharma." I don't know if I will achieve it, but we're trying. (Translated from Spanish)

[Alejo · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The most spiritual book of Kerouac, where his personal life and thoughts are immersed in a caravan of analogies regarding Buddhism and his lifestyle, philosophy, and habits. For those who have not read anything about the author, it is recommended to first read "On the Road," followed by "The Vanity of Duluoz," and finally "And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks." (Translated from Spanish)