On the Road 'amplified' in app of Kerouac classic
Adaptation for iPad features interactive map of novel's famous pan-American journey
Tablet taken ... Jack Kerouac 'making a Dostoevsky madface of Russian Basso BeBop Om' in 1953 for his friend Allen Ginsberg's camera. Photograph: Allen Ginsberg/Corbis
Readers will now be able to relive the journey taken by Dean and Sal in Jack Kerouac's legendary Beat novel On the Road, thanks to the release of an "amplified" version of the novel, which has just been published for the iPad.
Following Faber & Faber's iPad adaptation of TS Eliot's The Waste Land, which last week knocked Marvel's comic book app out of the top spot in the Apple App book store, Penguin has just released an iPad version of On the Road. As well as the complete text of the original 1957 novel, based on Kerouac's own adventures across America with Neal Cassady, the app includes an interactive map of the route taken in the book, complete with historical photographs and notes on the contemporary context.
The app also features photographs from Jack Kerouac's estate, rare audio clips of the author reading from an early draft of On the Road and pages from his journal with notes on plot and structure. A reproduction of his first, 120-foot scroll draft of the book will be comparable side by side with the published version, highlighting the elements removed by lawyers – including the author's most explicit treatments of sex and drug use. Letters between Kerouac and his editors about the novel's early reception, tributes to the book and author by writers from John Updike to Bob Dylan, and documentary footage of fellow Beats speaking about Kerouac are also included.
"One of the main goals was to continue to re-imagine how we bring classic literature to life most vividly and enjoyably for readers. The challenge in developing this app was to get the balance right. We had to make sure the technology enhanced the content while we maintained top-notch editorial and design standards," said Penguin Books US editor-in-chief Stephen Morrison. "On The Road makes for a great experiment as the book is a legend of post-war American writing, with a multilayered backstory and publishing history that we were able to draw upon to create a rich, involving experience. I think we've managed to strike the right balance to make it intriguing to the Beat novice and aficionado alike."
Following Faber & Faber's iPad adaptation of TS Eliot's The Waste Land, which last week knocked Marvel's comic book app out of the top spot in the Apple App book store, Penguin has just released an iPad version of On the Road. As well as the complete text of the original 1957 novel, based on Kerouac's own adventures across America with Neal Cassady, the app includes an interactive map of the route taken in the book, complete with historical photographs and notes on the contemporary context.
The app also features photographs from Jack Kerouac's estate, rare audio clips of the author reading from an early draft of On the Road and pages from his journal with notes on plot and structure. A reproduction of his first, 120-foot scroll draft of the book will be comparable side by side with the published version, highlighting the elements removed by lawyers – including the author's most explicit treatments of sex and drug use. Letters between Kerouac and his editors about the novel's early reception, tributes to the book and author by writers from John Updike to Bob Dylan, and documentary footage of fellow Beats speaking about Kerouac are also included.
"One of the main goals was to continue to re-imagine how we bring classic literature to life most vividly and enjoyably for readers. The challenge in developing this app was to get the balance right. We had to make sure the technology enhanced the content while we maintained top-notch editorial and design standards," said Penguin Books US editor-in-chief Stephen Morrison. "On The Road makes for a great experiment as the book is a legend of post-war American writing, with a multilayered backstory and publishing history that we were able to draw upon to create a rich, involving experience. I think we've managed to strike the right balance to make it intriguing to the Beat novice and aficionado alike."
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