Visions of Gerard

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Visions of Gerard
Visions of Gerard cover
Enlarge
Visions of Gerard cover
Author Jack Kerouac
Country United States
Language English
Genre(s) Novel
Publisher
Released 1963
Media Type Print (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages Approx. 144 pages
ISBN ISBN 0-14-014452-8
Preceded by Big Sur
(1962)
Followed by Desolation Angels
(1965)

Visions of Gerard is a 1963 novel by American Beat writer Jack Kerouac. Unique among Kerouac's novels, Visions of Gerard focuses on the scenes and sensations of childhood as evidenced in the tragically short yet happy life of his older brother, Gerard. Kerouac paints a picture of the boy as a saint, who loves all creatures and teaches this doctrine to four-year-old Jack. Set in Kerouac's hometown of Lowell, Massachusetts, it is a beautiful but unsettling exploration of the meaning and precariousness of existence.

The novel inspired, in the very least, the title of Bob Dylan's song Visions of Johanna on his 1966 album Blonde On Blonde.

[edit] References


Books by Jack Kerouac
Atop an Underwood: Early Stories and Other WritingsVisions of GerardDoctor SaxThe Town and the CityMaggie CassidyVanity of DuluozOn the RoadVisions of CodyThe SubterraneansTristessaThe Dharma BumsLonesome TravelerDesolation AngelsBig SurSatori in ParisPicOld Angel MidnightBook of DreamsGood Blonde & OthersOrpheus EmergedBook of SketchesAnd the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks (unpublished)