Suburbia25's Full Review: Jack Kerouac - Tristessa
I wasn't all too sure what to think of this book when I first picked it up. It did not in any way strike me as your typical Kerouac novel, as it didn't involve numerous characters and adventures, and it was only 96 pages long. Instead, Jack based Tristessa on the period of his life he spent living in the slums of Mexico City, and the faces and problems that surrounded him.
The basic story line in this book surrounded a junky Mexican prostitute named Tristessa of whom Jack(Kerouac's "alias") has fallen madly in love with. Jack can't find a way to tell her, and she sends him completely mixed signals, and is constantly too hung up on her drug addiction to care about love. At one point he leaves to go up to California(in which period of time "The Dharma Bums" takes place), and the story picks up a year later when Jack returns with his urgent need to see Tristessa.
Another story line of Tristessa involves Jack sitting in the pad where Tristessa and her friend Cruz live, and his fasination with the animals that live there (a Chihuaua, a cat, a hen, a rooster, and a dove). He meditates and watches them, wondering what they're thinking and trying his best to earn their trust and respect.
This was quite an amazing book. I find any of Jack Kerouac's works hard to put down, as there is always something new and interesting and fascinating to read and learn from his writing. I would recommend this story to any Beat Generation or Kerouac reader.
Sleep well in your grave tonight Jack, you've done it again.
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