Desolation Angels (novel)


Desolation Angels is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Beat Generation author Jack Kerouac, which makes up part of his Duluoz Legend. It was published in 1965, but was written years earlier, around the time On the Road was in the process of publication. According to the book's foreword, the opening section of the novel is taken almost directly from the journal he kept when he was a fire lookout on Desolation Peak in the North Cascade mountains of Washington state. Much of the psychological struggle which the novel's protagonist, Jack Duluoz, undergoes in the novel reflects Kerouac's own increasing disenchantment with the Buddhist philosophy with which he had previously been fascinated.

Character key

All of Kerouac's Duluoz legend's characters were based on others that were present within his life.
Real-life personCharacter name
Jack KerouacJack Duluoz
William S. BurroughsBull Hubbard
Lucien CarrJulien Love
Carolyn CassadyEvelyn
Neal CassadyCody Pomeray
Gregory CorsoRaphael Urso
Henri CruDeni Bleu
Claude DalenburgPaul
Robert DuncanGeoffrey Donald
Bill GarverOld Bull Gaines
Allen GinsbergIrwin Garden
Louis GinsbergHarry Garden
Joyce Glassman / Joyce JohnsonAlyce Newman
Randall JarrellVarnum Random
Philip LamantiaDavid D'Angeli
Robert LaVigneLevesque
Helen WeaverRuth Heaper
Ruth Erickson
Norman MailerHarvey Marker
Michael McClurePatrick McLear
Locke McCorkleKevin McLoch
John MontgomeryAlex Fairbrother
Peter OrlovskySimon Darlovsky
Julius OrlovskyLazarus Darlovsky
Alan WattsAlex Aums
Gary SnyderJarry Wagner
William Carlos WilliamsDr. Williams

Kerouac was not particularly conscientious about masking the identities of his friends in this work. Partway through Chapter 91, there is the line, "'Who wants to ride freight trains!' -Gregory- 'I dont dig all this crap where you ride freight trains and have to exchange butts with bums-'". Somehow both Kerouac and the editors missed that "Gregory" was not changed to "Raphael". Similarly, the locals of Tangiers call Old Bull Hubbard "Boorows" in Chapter 52 of Book 2. In Chapter 43, he refers to "...the Sundays in Neal Cassady's writings..." The editors may have ignored this, since it refers to Neal as a writer instead of a friend. In Part 1 of Book 2 the locals are said to call Old Bull Gaines "Senor Gahr-va". And in Chapter 80, the discussion of the meanings of Urso and Pomeray's names leads to a less than clear comparison to the name Corso.

Style

The book is broken up into two sections called Desolation Angels and Passing Through, which are then subdivided into many shorter parts. Each part focuses on a specific location where Kerouac is at that time. The first section covers Kerouac's time on the mountain and immediately after he leaves the fire lookout. The foreword of the book mentions that Kerouac was hoping to get the second section, Passing Through, published as a standalone novel.