ON THE ROAD

It’s amazing that, with only a small bag of vocal tricks and no particular attention to subtext, Frank Muller can hold one’s attention through a tome as large as this one. His voice is inherently compelling and always expressive. Here he essays the bestselling roman à clef by the author who named and exemplified the Beat Generation. Penniless young Sal Paradise, Kerouac’s alter ego, travels across America to discover himself with the help of a new buddy fresh out of reform school. Here one finds the themes that profoundly influenced the counterculture of the 60s. Muller emphasizes the romance and adventure of Paradise’s escapades, though, if our hero grew spiritually and intellectually from his pilgrimages, we do not hear it. Y.R. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine [Published: APR/MAY 00]