On the Road by Jack Kerouac
This novel follows the story of a young man and his friend as they embark on a series of cross-country road trips across America during the late 1940s and early 1950s. The protagonist, driven by a desire for freedom and a quest for identity, encounters a series of eccentric characters and experiences the highs and lows of the Beat Generation. The narrative is a testament to the restlessness of youth and the allure of adventure, underscored by themes of jazz, poetry, and drug use.
The 41st greatest book of all time
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Total Points: 3736
This book was first published in 1957
66 Lists
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- score: 187 -- 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die - 2006 (Weight: 180)
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- score: 167 -- Best Foreign Work of Fiction Chosen by Francophone Writers - 2006 (Weight: 170)
- score: 164 -- Harenberg Buch der 1000 Bücher - 2005 (Weight: 160)
- score: 150 -- 50 Best Cult Books - 2016 (Weight: 142)
- score: 148 -- 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read - 2009 (Weight: 140)
- score: 147 -- Daily Telegraph's 100 Books of the Century, 1900-1999 - 1999 (Weight: 160)
- score: 145 -- The Ideal Library - 2024 (Weight: 120)
- score: 143 -- Books Of The Century - 1999 (Weight: 150)
- score: 139 -- The New York Public Library's Books of the Century - 1996 (Weight: 160)
- score: 120 -- Big Read (Bulgarian) - 2009 (Weight: 120)
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- score: 86 -- Koen Book Distributors Top 100 Books of the Past Century - 1999 (Weight: 89)
- score: 84 -- Books that Shaped the Century - 2020 (Weight: 80)
- score: 74 -- Books That Shaped America - 2012 (Weight: 70)
- score: 74 -- Quintessential American Fiction, According to the Rest of the World - 2015 (Weight: 60)
- score: 74 -- Radcliffe's 100 Best Novels - 1998 (Weight: 80)
- score: 70 -- The Modern Library | 100 Best Novels - 1999 (Weight: 79)
- score: 68 -- The Big Read - 2003 (Weight: 70)
- score: 64 -- The 100 Greatest Novels - 2008 (Weight: 61)
- score: 63 -- The 100 Best Novels Of All Time (Runners-Up) - 2026 (Weight: 60)
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- score: 57 -- My Favourite Book - Australian Big Read - 2004 (Weight: 60)
- score: 56 -- "Our Readable Century", The Best Books of the 20th Century -- Honorable Mention - 2000 (Weight: 60)
- score: 42 -- A Century of World Literature 1925 - 2025 - 2025 (Weight: 40)
- score: 38 -- Waterstone's Books of the Century - 1997 (Weight: 40)
- score: 29 -- 150 Great Reads - 1988 (Weight: 40)
- score: 28 -- 100 Best 20th-Century American Books - 1999 (Weight: 31)
- score: 28 -- The Novel 100: A Ranking of the Greatest Novels of All Time - 2004 (Weight: 30)
- score: 26 -- The Modern Library's 100 Best Novels: The Readers' List - 1998 (Weight: 30)
- score: 24 -- The 500 best books of all time from Culture Café users - 2008 (Weight: 20)
- score: 21 -- The 100 Novels You Must Read in Your Lifetime - 2023 (Weight: 20)
- score: 20 -- 100 Essential Books - 2009 (Weight: 20)
- score: 16 -- TIME Magazine All Time 100 Novels - 2005 (Weight: 16)
- score: 10 -- Russell Banks's Book Choices from "The Writer's Library" - 2020 (Weight: 10)
- score: 10 -- David Bowie's Top 100 Favorite Books - 2016 (Weight: 10)
- score: 10 -- The 100 Greatest Novels - 2007 (Weight: 10)
- score: 10 -- Readers’ Top 100 Novels Of All Time - 2026 (Weight: 10)
- score: 10 -- The Telegraph’s 100 Novels Everyone Should Read - 2009 (Weight: 10)
- score: 9 -- The 100 Greatest Novels of All Time: The List - 2003 (Weight: 10)
- score: 4 -- Everything You Should Read without Being a Library Rat - 1972 (Weight: 10)
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- score: 1 -- 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die: A Life-Changing List - 2018 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The 100 Greatest American Novels, 1893 – 1993 - 2013 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The Modern Library: The Two Hundred Best Novels in English Since 1950 - 2011 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 100 Books to Read in a Lifetime - 2014 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- 50 Books to Read Before You Die - 2015 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- Select 100 - 2015 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- The Graphic Canon - 2012 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- From Zero to Well-Read in 100 Books - 2013 (Weight: 1)
- score: 1 -- A Century of Reading - 2018 (Weight: 1)
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- score: 1 -- 100 Best Western(United States) Works of Fiction - 1999 (Weight: 1)
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- score: 1 -- Edmonton's Top 100 - 1998 (Weight: 1)
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