Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $6.50 You Save: $6.50 (50%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.48 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Naked Lunch
Book Review: A Counterculture Literary Classic: Essential Burroughs
Summary: 5 Stars
What else can I say, other than that this is "the" book that has brought William S. Burroughs the most fame(infamy?) and glory. Most people interested in Beat Literature choose Kerouac for insight, but I feel that Burroughs gets to the root of the Beatniks' most defining element: Drug use/abuse. His style is unrelenting. His prose harsh and ragged, not unlike himslef for some 15 odd years of his life in which he lived as a junky. I urge the reader to not read this book in sequence from beginning to end as a traditional novel. Instead, read a chapter or two at a time. Then, set it down and leave it alone for a day. The next day, return and continue reading. Each pargraph; each page is a message unto itself. Burroughs uses a rehab center in a place called Interzone, the character William Lee, and a sadistic orgy to help convey the over-all idea that the junky is a sad and tragic individual. But, what makes the junky so tragic is not his position in life. It is the sad fact that he put himself there in the first place. And, to spite himself, the junky's body must continue this act even though his mind says no. It is sad that this book has not been given the credit that it is due. Only at the end of his life did Mr. Burroughs begin to reap the rewards of his, and his comrades' work. As though he couldn't stand another minute in the world of the straight and narrow without a friend(Allen Ginsberg, the last Beat), he died after a life of extreme hardships and bittersweet success. Needless to say, this book sums up Burroughs' early life on the streets before any real intimations of success. It is not for the faint of heart, nor is it for those of you who prefer "popular" literature. It is for those of us who seek the truth, and read books about certain topics for an element of reality.Book Review: A Foray Into The Dark Channels of a Homosexual Druggie
Summary: 4 Stars
Naked Lunch is one of the most difficult to understand pieces of literature ever constructed. Written in a non-linear, juxta-posed, cut up manner, Naked Lunch parallels the eratic synaptic internal firings of a junkies brain and bodily functions. Occassionally dispensing refreshingly riveting insights into a heroin addicts out of body experiences, Burroughs presents a garbling and violent depiction of the dark recesses of demonic drug possession. Frightening and clairvoyant in its brutal, uncensored portrayal of 1950s, expatriate, existentialist drug excesses.Book Review: A Genius and his shouting post
Summary: 5 Stars
Burroghs was a revolutionary. Burroghs though manages to stray from the standard revolutionary protype. No borrowed ideals or feelings in this book, Burroghs Naked lunch is a result of turning one persons reality into a universal reality. One mans addiction tells the story of mankind. Burroghs Naked Lunch is by no means an autobiographical account, simply what happens when authors ignore the factual and engage in the truth. This book was not written as entertainment, Burroghs makes this clear near the end of the book. Whether readers take an inclination towards this book, time will tell. Naked Lunch is a great piece of literature.Book Review: A Journey Into The Unknown -- What Could Be Better?
Summary: 5 Stars
This is the one book that stretches the definitions of just about every classification ever made about it. Although it contains a whole lot of fiction (people turn into centipedes, scorpions, oozing masses of ectoplasm, etc.), it contains just as much stuff from William S. Burroughs' real life. However, he manages to blend all of it together in such a way that you can't tell just what's going on until about 50 pages into the book.It's certainly a daunting task trying to separate the wheat from the chaff the first time that you read it, but about halfway through, you start to understand Burroughs' bizarre sense of black humor, and you can begin to laugh at things like Steely Dan (a strap-on used by a characters girl-friend to... uh... bugger him) and A.J.'s various exploits (bringing a baboon into a bar, but trying to pass it off as a poodle).
However, this book is not for everyone. If you are uncomfortable with things like frank depictions of the effects diseases (real and imagined), gay sex, and drug use by just about everyone from politicians to doctors (during surgery), then this book will send you screaming from the library. On the other hand, if those things don't bother you, this could easily become your favorite book of all time. Along with NAKED LUNCH, I'd like to recommend THE LOSERS' CLUB by Richard Perez. Thanks to the previous reviewer who recommended it.
Book Review: A Kerouac lover's library MUST HAVE THIS!
Summary: 5 Stars
I must admit, I only grabbed this book because a character in another book I read was into Burroughs. That, and he was compared to my favorite author and thinker- Jack Kerouac. Even people that don't love the Beat generation will fall in love with Naked Lunch. It is very descriptive and will put some pretty crazy pictures in your head. No, its not for everyone, nor do I think people that aren't interested should read it. But, it is a definate beatnik classic- so fellow open-minded thinkers- READ ON. And if you're worried about its profane nature and illicit foulness, fear not- I read it in ninth grade, and am letting my ninth grader read it now.