It is now obvious that this was Jack's first crack at writing a novel. While the prose was exquisitely written, it was incredibly rambling. I suppose that would be indicative of the thoughts of the first time sailor, Everheart but the more he rambled on, the more I tuned him out and DEFINITELY the less I liked him.
Contrasting Bill Everhart was Wesley Martin, the veteran Merchant Marine who talks Bill into this mission. I enjoyed his story MUCH more. What you see is what you get with Wesley and I enjoyed his broken road. Unfortunately he gets very low billing in the character development arena.
While you'd think that this book took place at sea, only in the last chapter did the boat take sail. I admire this as a first novel, and a part of the Kerouac canon, but I don't love it as a stand alone novel.
Goodreads rating: 3 stars
In progress: Insurgent by Veronica Roth
On Deck: The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
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