The First Third

I’m a huge fan of the beat writers. I’m fascinated by the story of the Merry Pranksters. The life of the driver of Further is one for the ages. Neil Cassady had to write at least one novel. Being the best friend of the best writer of the genre, Jack Kerouac.

This book is great if you truly want to get into the mind of the fastest man on the planet. just like neal who could jump around from one topic to the other in mid-sentence, that is exactly the way he writes the book. Don't confuse neal with jack, because neal is to fast to sit down and read in one setting. And the letter at the end make for some good and funny reading. If you truly love the beats and want to see what the heartbeat is really all about, check this book out.

Absolutely wonderful piece of writing. If only Cassady had had the time (there was never enough) to write more than this snatch of autobiography...

While I didn't find the actual writing style to be as exciting and wonderful as anticipated (considering his friends were always so wowed and impressed with his letters), you get an idea of how Neal talked through his writing. This is an incredibly important book as far as trying to figure out who Neal was. It is hard to wade through the idealised american holy hero angel kerouac identified him as, as well as the viewpoint of those such as carolyn and allen and figure out who he is. for the first time we get his words about what happened to him in the earlier years of his life. the only bad thing about this book is that he didn't get farther before he died.

The First Third documents neal Cassady's childhood, illustrated through his adventures with his homeless father and inpoverished upbringing. It includes some fabulous ideas inside many intentional run on sentances. Not for the grammatically correct. I got to the end and wished it had been longer. Cassady is an addictive writer, with easy language and deep ideas.