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Tristessa

By Jack Kerouac
Series: Penguin Modern Classics
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3.65 goodreads logo

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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Tristessa by Jack Kerouac offers a poignant exploration of love, addiction, and transcendence. Set in Mexico City, it follows an American writer's relationship with a morphine-addicted Mexican woman. The narrative delves into their shared struggles, highlighting themes of spirituality and human connection.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

If you're drawn to profound explorations of human emotion and the stark realities of life, you may enjoy this book. It offers a poetic and deeply personal narrative that delves into themes of love, loss, and existential contemplation, all set against a vivid backdrop that brings the story's poignant moments to life.

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Tristessa

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

A haunting portrayal of addiction and a troubled young woman.

She understands Karma, she says- "What I do, I reap"

Her name means sadness, yet Tristessa, a prostitute and morphine addict, lives without cares in her shabby room with a menagerie of pets and an altar to the Virgin Mary. Based on Jack Kerouac's own real-life love affair in Mexico City, this is the story of a man's ill-fated relationship with a woman he portrays with tenderness and dignity, even as her life spirals out of control.

A narrative meditation studying a hen, a rooster, a dove, a cat, a chihuaha dog, family meat, and a ravishing, ravished junky lady, first in their crowded bedroom, then out to drunken streets, taco stands, and pads at dawn in Mexico City slums. – Allen Ginsberg

Series: Penguin Modern Classics

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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Tristessa by Jack Kerouac receives mixed reviews for its poetic prose and spiritual themes. Readers appreciate its vivid depiction of Mexico City and emotional depth, although some find the narrative disjointed. The book is praised for its exploration of love and addiction, capturing Kerouac's distinctive style.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780241388990

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 04 July 2019

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Penguin Classics

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 6.0mm

Width: 130.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 67g

Pages: 80

Collections

Fiction General Fiction Jack Kerouac Literary Fiction Penguin Books Penguin Classics Series: Penguin Modern Classics

About the Author

Jack Kerouac was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1922. Educated by Jesuit brothers in Lowell, he decided to become a writer at age seventeen and developed his own writing style, which he called 'spontaneous prose'. He used this technique to record the life of the American 'traveler' and the experiences of the Beat Generation, most memorably in On the Road and also in The Subterraneans and The Dharma Bums. His other works include Big Sur, Desolation Angels, Lonesome Traveler, Visions of Gerard, Tristessa, and a book of poetry called Mexico City Blues. Jack Kerouac died in 1969.

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