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From one of the most famous of the Beat writers, Kerouac’s final novel of brotherhood and travel, now reissued in a standalone edition following his centenary celebrationPic—full name Pictorial Review Jackson—is a ten-year-old Black boy living in rural North Carolina with his grandfather in the 1940s. When Pic is forced to move in with his aunt after his grandfather’s passing, his older brother Slim appears to rescue him. Together, they hitch a ride to New York City, where Slim lives with his pregnant girlfriend, but the city’s poverty shocks young Pic. When Slim loses job after job, the brothers will pick up and head west, making their way to California across a country suffused with hardship, music, love, and danger. Kerouac’s last published novel,
Pic is an endearing portrayal of brotherhood and the classic American road trip, seen through the adventurous eyes of a child.
About the author
JACK KEROUAC was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1922. He won a scholarship to Columbia University, where he first met Neal Cassady, Allen Ginsberg, and William S. Burroughs.
On the Road, published in 1957, epitomized to the world what became known as the “Beat generation” and made Kerouac one of the best-known writers of his time. He died in St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1969.
Summary
From one of the
most famous of the Beat writers, Kerouac’s final novel of brotherhood and travel,
now reissued in a standalone edition following his centenary celebration
Pic—full name Pictorial Review Jackson—is
a ten-year-old Black boy living in rural North Carolina with his grandfather in
the 1940s. When Pic is forced to move in with his aunt after his grandfather’s
passing, his older brother Slim appears to rescue him. Together, they hitch a
ride to New York City, where Slim lives with his pregnant girlfriend, but the
city’s poverty shocks young Pic. When Slim loses job after job, the brothers
will pick up and head west, making their way to California across a country
suffused with hardship, music, love, and danger. Kerouac’s last published
novel, Pic is an endearing portrayal of brotherhood and the classic
American road trip, seen through the adventurous eyes of a child.
