American Road Fiction | 
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AFOOT and light-hearted, I take to the open road. / Healthy, free, the world before me, / The long brown path before me, leading wherever I choose. . .
Walt Whitman, Song of the Open Road
Algren, Nelson. Somebody in Boots. 1935 F AL pb
Nelson Algren's realistic first novel follows the travels of "Tex" Cass McKay as he hops boxcars, panhandles, flops in hobo settlements and walks the depressed streets of El Paso, New Orleans and Chicago in the 1930s.
Faulkner, William. The Reivers. 1962 F FA
Faulkner's final novel (published in 1962; winner of the 1963 Pulitzer Prize) recounts the adventures of Lucius, his friend Boon Hogganbeck, and Lucius's grandfather's stablekeeper Ned, who together steal Lucius's grandfather's car in order to travel to Memphis. The last of Faulkner's Yoknapatawpha County novels.
Kerouac, Jack. On the Road. 1957 F KE
One of the seminal works of beat literature, "On the Road" depicts the adventures of Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty as they cross and recross continental America in the late 1940s. Based loosely upon Kerouac's real experiences with Neal Cassady (Moriarty), Allen Ginsberg (Carlo Marx) and William Burroughs (Old Bull Lee), this energetic and spirited novel stirred an entire generation upon its publication in the late 1950s.
Kerouac, Jack. Visions of Cody. 1972 F KE
Originally written in 1951-1952, but not published until three years after his death in 1969, Kerouac's second novel chronicles the exploits of Cody Pomeroy (Neil Cassady) and Kerouac himself (aka Jack Deluoscz) as they travel from New York to California to Mexico and back again.
Kerouac, Jack. The Dharma Bums. 1958 F KE
Zen Lunatics Ray Smith, Japhy Ryder and Alvah Goldbook drink, argue, attend marathon poetry reading sessions in bohemian San Francisco and pursue the Zen way along the coastal highways of northern California and atop the tranquil peaks of the Sierras.
London, Jack. Valley of the Moon. 1913 F LO
The story of working-class couple Billy and Saxon Roberts, who sought to escape their life of urban poverty by traveling through central and northern California in search of land which they could cultivate and call home. The novel is based largely upon the Londons' actual experience and its title is derived from the English translation of the Native American world "Sonoma."
McCarthy, Cormac. The Road. 2006 F McCarthy
A man and his son travel through an unnamed, post-apocalytic landscape in search of food, shelter and warmth while evading gangs of murderous and cannibalistic outlaws. McCarthy's most imaginative fable to date explores the tension between personal will and social conciliation in a context of unrelenting scarcity and want.
McCarthy, Cormac. The Crossing. 1994 F McC
The second installment of McCarthy's "Border Trilogy" is an atmospheric and violent picaresque that follows the adventures of brothers Billy and Boyd Parham as they cross and recross the border into Mexico, where they encounter revolutionaries, thieves, and assorted gypsies and seekers.
McCarthy, Cormac. All the Pretty Horses. 1991 F McC
Set in the years immediately following World War II, "All the Pretty Horses" tells the story of John Grady Cole, a young man who, together with his sidekick Lacey Rawlins, sets off on horseback for Mexico where he finds affection of the female sort, followed by arrest and jail under deplorable conditions. His release is his final passage into a fully adult existence.
McMurtry, Larry. The Late Child. 1995 F McM
In an effort to recover from the loss of her daughter, Vegas showgirl Harmony leaves town with her son and travels throughout the country with a dog named Iggy Pop before returning to her family home in Oklahoma.
Steinbeck, John. The Grapes of Wrath. 1939 F ST
The Joad family, Okie farmers forced from their dustbowl home during the Depression, try to find work as migrant fruitpickers in California.
Twain, Mark. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. 1885 F Twain, M.
Huckleberry Finn, an abused outcast, rafts with Jim, a runaway slave, down the Mississippi River, where they have a variety of experiences.
Wright, Stephen. Going Native. 1994 F WR
The story of one man's journey to the dark side of civilized society reveals the nightmare behind the American Dream--crackheads in the suburbs, a lesbian wedding chapel in Las Vegas, and an L.A. dinner party blown to bits.
Created 08/14/07 by Brian Myers
