Hal [Chase] was equally impressed with Jack’s manner of reading. During the several years he was close to him, Hal saw Jack reading only about half a dozen books. Jack read very slowly, and would reread each major scene of a novel until he understood its dynamics perfectly. He always sought to determine whether a scene was dramatically right or wrong at its particular place in the novel, and he wouldn’t move on until he was satisfied his judgment was as good or better than the novelist’s. The Brothers Karamazov, which Hal lent him, took Jack seven months to finish. His selection of books was very deliberate; he always chose those that would help him with his current writing.
— Gerald Nicosia in Memory Babe: A Critical Biography of Jack Kerouac (1983)
(Source: predatorywaspobserver)
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