" Although I think I somewhat understand how this novel gained Kerouac the fame he received, I found it to be rather weak. The book generally lacks plot. This may be by design, but, be that as it may, it is not the kind of book I tend to enjoy. I expect that the primary reason why this book has been praised is because of how well it illustrates the internal strife and conflict veterans of WWII experienced in the 40s and 50s and the development of the beat movement. While that is a touching topic to address and perhaps needs to be expressed in some way, I think Hemingway does a better job of showing how war can leave young men uprooted and impotent in The Sun Also Rises. In both books, the protagonist is thrust into a world of cheap thrills, lawlessness, and nomadic attempts to find a purpose or a home after war. They each end with a reference to how their journeys have been futile--they are about to restart the cycle of what occurred in the novel. I simply think that Hemingway put the message out there more eloquently and with a better plot, so I question why we should read the later, inferior iteration of the time-tested formula. "
— Ethan, 1/16/2014