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The Sea Is  My Brother by Jack Kerouac
Photograph: Jessica Lin

Review: The Sea Is My Brother by Jack Kerouac

A newly discovered debut from the 21-year-old writer is best reserved for devotees.

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By Jack Kerouac. Da Capo, $23.

On the first page of Jack Kerouac’s recently discovered debut novel, the reader is introduced to Wesley Martin, a proto–Neal Cassady figure who effortlessly woos women, drinks, chain-smokes and generally roams the landscape with a vigorous and poetic gusto. A merchant marine between destinations, Wesley meets up with a merry band of socialites in 1940s New York City, instantly netting the heart of Polly Anderson and the intellectual curiosity of Bill Everhart, an associate professor of English literature at Columbia who bears a heavy resemblance to a young Allen Ginsberg.

The adventures continue apace as Bill vacillates between the willing accomplice and doubting Thomas in Wesley’s schemes. A dozen or so pages in, as Kerouac invokes Billie Holiday, Thomas Wolfe and Orson Welles as icons, he’s also playing the journalist, making cultural recommendations that will eventually become touchstones for the Beat Generation. A ten-page stretch of two socialists arguing about each other’s dedication to the cause might be the prose equivalent of the world’s most pointless pissing contest.

The book alternately gains steam when wry antihero Wesley directs the action, and loses it when the too-literate Bill overanalyzes every situation to a halt. The sense of movement and passionate awe in Kerouac’s voice break through occasionally, especially in his comma-filled cataloging of the characters’ actions, and a particularly humanizing moment when Wesley is reunited with his estranged wife. This novel offers varying glimpses into what will become one of the defining voices of post-WWII American literature, but the 21-year-old Kerouac is still clearly finding his footing as a writer. Despite its occasional flashes of brilliance, The Sea Is My Brother is probably best reserved for scholars and devotees.

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