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“R.J. Ellis provides by far the most cogent and incisive published analysis of On the Road and Visions of Cody, in terms of narrative closure, myth and ideology."
Oliver Harris, Keele University, editor of the Letters of William Burroughs.
“R.J.Ellis forcefully demonstrates how Kerouac's unique literary devices enabled him to examine the particular complexities of his life and times. A novel and thought-provoking study."
Dave Moore, editor, The Kerouac Connection, 1984-1990; authoc The Kerouac Companion.
Liar! Liar! is the first study of Kerouac's fiction to devote an individual chapter to each of his novels. On the Road, Visions of Cody and The Subterraneans, Kerouac's central masterpleces, are excitingly re-read, as are the books Kerouac saw as key elements of his 'bop' odyssey, Visions of Gerard and Doctor Sax and daring innovations like Old Angel Midnight. Undeservedly neglected wrifings, such as Tristessa and Big Sur, are also fully analyzed, alongside more famous novels like Dharma Bums and Desolation Angels.
Liar! Liarl takes its title from the words of Tristessa's narrator, Jack, warning us to 'watch out' for his story's lies. Ellis provocatively proposes that we must heed this warning and instead of reading Kerouac's novels simply as fictional versions of his life focus upon the way the novels work as a series of ambigu-ously-presented explorations: of class, ethnicity, sexual identity, the Catholic confessional and addiction in its hydra-headed modern forms. Ellis proposes that Kerouac's bitingly outspoken attacks upon his narrator's 'vanities' in these treacherous, interacting fields make him an incisive commentator on his uncertain times.
R.J. Eills Is Professor of English and American Studies at The Nottingham Trent University.
ISNB 1-871551-53-6
“R.J. Ellis provides by far the most cogent and incisive published analysis of On the Road and Visions of Cody, in terms of narrative closure, myth and ideology."
Oliver Harris, Keele University, editor of the Letters of William Burroughs.
“R.J.Ellis forcefully demonstrates how Kerouac's unique literary devices enabled him to examine the particular complexities of his life and times. A novel and thought-provoking study."
Dave Moore, editor, The Kerouac Connection, 1984-1990; authoc The Kerouac Companion.
Liar! Liar! is the first study of Kerouac's fiction to devote an individual chapter to each of his novels. On the Road, Visions of Cody and The Subterraneans, Kerouac's central masterpleces, are excitingly re-read, as are the books Kerouac saw as key elements of his 'bop' odyssey, Visions of Gerard and Doctor Sax and daring innovations like Old Angel Midnight. Undeservedly neglected wrifings, such as Tristessa and Big Sur, are also fully analyzed, alongside more famous novels like Dharma Bums and Desolation Angels.
Liar! Liarl takes its title from the words of Tristessa's narrator, Jack, warning us to 'watch out' for his story's lies. Ellis provocatively proposes that we must heed this warning and instead of reading Kerouac's novels simply as fictional versions of his life focus upon the way the novels work as a series of ambigu-ously-presented explorations: of class, ethnicity, sexual identity, the Catholic confessional and addiction in its hydra-headed modern forms. Ellis proposes that Kerouac's bitingly outspoken attacks upon his narrator's 'vanities' in these treacherous, interacting fields make him an incisive commentator on his uncertain times.
R.J. Eills Is Professor of English and American Studies at The Nottingham Trent University.
ISNB 1-871551-53-6