Desolation Angels (novel)

Desolation Angels
First US edition
AuthorJack Kerouac
LanguageEnglish
SeriesDuluoz Legend
PublisherCoward McCann
Publication date
1965
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (Hardback & Paperback)
Pages366 pg
Preceded byVisions of Gerard
(1963) 
Followed bySatori in Paris
(1966) 

Desolation Angels is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Beat Generation author Jack Kerouac, which makes up part of his Duluoz Legend. It was published in 1965, but was written years earlier, around the time On the Road was in the process of publication. The events described in the novel take place from 1956-1957.[1] Much of the psychological struggle which the novel's protagonist, Jack Duluoz, undergoes in the novel reflects Kerouac's own increasing disenchantment with the Buddhist philosophy.[2] Throughout the novel, Kerouac discusses his disenchantment with fame, and complicated feelings towards the Beat Generation.[3] He also discusses his relationship with his mother and his friends (and prominent Beat figures) such as Allen Ginsberg, Neal Cassady, Lucienn Carr and William S. Burroughs. The novel is also notable for being a relatively positive portrayal of homosexuality and homosexual characters, despite its use of words that were at the time considered homophobic slurs.

  1. ^ Kerouac, Jack (1965). Desolation Angels. Penguin Modern Classics. pp. 34, 330. ISBN 9780586038291.
  2. ^ Kerouac, Jack (2012-05-03). Desolation Angels. Penguin Books Limited. ISBN 978-0-14-197204-6.
  3. ^ Kerouac, Jack (1965). Desolation Angels. Penguin Modern Classics. ISBN 9780586038291.