A “… novel about a morphine-racked prostitute” in Mexico. (her name’s on the cover!) Pretty depressing.

Part One - Trembling and Chaste

A dove, cat, hen, and rooster get a lot of ink in this. And all four of them aren’t very interesting.

Part Two - A Year Later…

“Finally I was back in Bull’s room after a four thousand mile voyage from the mountain peak near Canada…”. “My poems stolen, my money stolen, my Tristessa dying, Mexican buses trying to run me down, grit in the sky, agh, I never dreamed it could be this bad-“

Yeah, it was that bad. And it wasn't much better to read about it! Morphine zombies stumbling through the streets of Mexico. Sad and depressing. ( )

This was my first Kerouac book, and it felt a little weird... Some passages were beautiful but others were very confusing, due to the language, structure and crazyness of the characters themselves, I guess. It may require another read so I can fully appreciate it. ( )

This was another great Kerouac book. The style, the prose was so succinct and revealing. The romanticism was intense and the entire conceptualization, page after page, was well worth the effort of reading this short, intriguing book. Kerouac was a master of his time and this book is just another example of it.

4.25 stars! ( )

This is a tiny, tiny little Kerouac book.

And you need to know right now absolutely and unequivocally this book has a lot of drug use and drug references. Okay? Okay.

I have mixed feelings about Jack Kerouac, and I think I always will. Originally, I absolutely adored him, and now I'm not sure how to feel about him.

Regardless, I enjoyed the writing in this book. The writing, I thought, was quite lyrical and there were a lot of run-on sentences. The lack of punctuation was difficult to get used to, but try not to let it worry you if you decide to read this book. The character of Tristessa I totally fell in love with at the time, but now I'm not sure if she was presented with the respect she deserved? Was she fetishised, made exotic / erotic? If I ever get around to rereading this book, I want to read it more critically so I know how I feel about it. It's easy for me to get swept along in his writing style and not challenge what I read, or, at least, it was.

The book doesn't really have a plot per se, so if you like plot, this book might not be for you. I think I will rate this 3.25 stars. c:

( )

I have read this book many times. the last time was a few years go so the details are blurry and, like all my favorite books, i am left with the lingering thoughts & emotions the book imprinted on me.

This is one of my favorite books of all time. It's tied for my favorite Kerouac book (with The Subterraneans). This book is heartbreaking. It's raw, and honest. I don't mean honesty like we've come to be used to/expect in authors and narrators. I mean -- so honest you may shift in your seat and grumble because you feel as though you're reading the diary of a close friend. Tristessa is an angel in my eyes (and his). A beautiful angel who is sad, and sick. She's a junkie and Kerouac lusts for her. It's a short book, and a quick read. It will make you cry, it always makes me cry. Although everytime I finish it I always feel a little bit different.. It always changes me a little bit. This is a mark of a truly brilliant book. I think the last time I read it I felt similar feelings to Jacks own.."couldn't he have done something more for her?!" I felt sad, like I lost someone I loved. And angry at Him for letting it happen. ( )