On the Road
American novelist, 1922–1969.
On the Road is a 1957 novel by Jack Kerouac.
On 8 of the 17 lists it was eligible for.
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At a glance
- Author
- Jack Kerouac
- First published
- 1957
- Length
- 320 pages (UK paperback)
- Genre
- Literary fiction, Adventure, Autobiographical
Is On the Road worth reading?
8 of the 17 best-of lists it could have made include it, among them 100 Best Novels (board's list) (Modern Library) and 100 books of the century (Le Monde).
| List | Place | Original |
|---|---|---|
| 100 Best Novels (board's list) (Modern Library, 1998) | No. 55 | See the list |
| 100 books of the century (Le Monde, 1999) | No. 67 | See the list |
| 100 novels everyone should read (The Telegraph, 2009) | No. 87 | See the list |
| All-Time 100 Novels (Time, 2005) | Listed | See the list |
| Readers' top 100 novels (The Guardian, 2026) | No. 73 | See the list |
| The 100 best novels written in English (The Guardian / Observer, 2015) | Listed | See the list |
| The 100 greatest novels of all time (The Observer, 2003) | Listed | See the list |
| The Big Read top 100 (BBC, 2003) | No. 90 | See the list |
Best edition of On the Road
The edition we link to is the Penguin Classics paperback (2000), 320 pages.
- Publisher
- Penguin Classics (paperback, 2000)
- Pages
- 320
- ISBN
- 9780141182674
How critics, prizes and readers rate On the Road
Critics rate it most highly: it earned 52% of the points available on critics' lists, against 31% on readers' and booksellers' lists and 0% on prize lists.
Share of the available points it earned on each kind of list it was eligible for. How the scores work
Books like On the Road
If you liked On the Road, try A Dance to the Music of Time, Animal Farm or All the King's Men.
