Satori in Paris is the semi-autobiographical tale of Jack Kerouac’s trip to France in search of his heritage. Beginning in Paris and moving west to Brittany, Kerouac traces the paths of his ancestors and explores his own understanding of the Buddhism that came to define his beliefs. From his familiar milieu of strangers and all-night conversations in seedy bars, to a pivotal cab ride in which he experiences Buddhism’s satori—a feeling of sudden understanding—Kerouac’s affecting and revolutionary writing transports the reader. Published at the height of his fame and showcasing his mature talent, Satori in Paris is a lyrical, rollicking tale of philosophy, identity, and the power and strangeness of travel.

Praise for Satori in Paris:

A New York Times Book Review Paperback Row Selection

“A remarkable ear for the cadences of a phrase or sentence, a sense of how to register in words the sheer, sweet flow of things.”—The Guardian

“An outsider in America, Jack Kerouac was a true original.”—Ann Charters

“The wonder of Kerouac’s muscular, free-form, imagistic language still astonishes. He remains an essential American mythologizer—one caught up in that backstreet world of bohemian life, before it was transformed by the harsh social Darwinism of capitalism . . . A hundred years after his birth, we still want to live that Kerouacian vision of life as one long cool stretch of highway.”—New Statesman