Though raised Catholic, in the early 1950s Jack Kerouac became fascinated with Buddhism, an interest that would have a profound impact on his ideas of spirituality and their expression in his writing from Mexico City Blues to The Dharma Bums. Published for the first time in book form, Wake Up is Kerouac's retelling of the story of Prince Siddhartha Gautama, who as a young man abandoned his wealthy family and comfortable home for a lifelong search for Enlightenment. As a compendium of the teachings of the Buddha, Wake Up is a profound meditation on the nature of life, desire, wisdom, and suffering. Distilled from a wide variety of canonical scriptures, Wake Up serves as both a concise primer on the concepts of Buddhism and as an insightful and deeply personal document of Kerouac's evolving beliefs. It is the work of a devoted spiritual follower of the Buddha who also happened to be one of the twentieth century's most influential novelists. Wake Up: A Life of the Buddha will be essential reading for the legions of Jack Kerouac fans and for anyone who is curious about the spiritual principles of one of the world's great religions.
The one star might not be a true reflection on the writing or Kerouac's efforts to tell a story of the Buddha, but it is a reflection of my enjoyment of the book. When I first picked up this story - about a year ago - I was intrigued about both the story of Gautama and also Kerouac's take on retelling the story of the Buddha. When I first picked up the story I had not yet read Hesse's Siddhartha nor had I yet had an opportunity to discuss Buddhist concepts with practicing Buddhists. Over the last year, both of this changed, and having picked up the book again this weekend to finish, it just no longer held my interest.
