Queer: A Novel by William S. Burroughs Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Queer: A Novel
Book Review: Depressing, and unnecessary yet prophetic of future work
Summary: 3 Stars
While it is a mustread for Burroughs enthusiasts the storyline in which the newly clean junkie vainly attempts to get laid in Mexico falls flat. What is cool however is the narratives that he places within the whole escapades. One of the most interesting books for people wondering what happened in between the straight Mickey Spillane styled Junkie and the wildly surreal Naked Lunch. However the best bits in this book were stolen in Naked Lunch. They make more sense in this book but with Burroughs that isn't necessarily a good thingBook Review: Drunks and lust
Summary: 4 Stars
What makes this novel so affecting, when it is, is due to the workmanlike approach of the writing -- it's very simple and blunt, but not boorish: there's a well of emotion running through the words, and some of the lines ("He felt a deep hurt, as though he were bleeding inside. Tears ran down his face.") are piercing. The novel reads like a druggy travelogue into Mexico; we get this dusty sense of watering holes, where our main character lusts after boys in his incompetent way, and formulates theories on how to acquire a rare drug. He's a crotchety old bugger, full of useless information, in love with Allerton, a boy more beautiful and refined than he, who allows himself to be bought; out of loneliness or indifference, it's not clear. (You understand why Allen Ginsberg appreciates the novel so much.)
Burroughs is witty in his way (there's a great line about Allerton being untalented at removing people from an occupied space in his life), but because his writing is so permeated with drunks and lascivious characters, you sometimes wonder whether his wittiness is apparent even to him. There is one uproarious scene where he refers to "she-Jews" and then backs up and says, "I must be careful not to lay myself open to a change of anti-Semitism." And he includes an idea for a new dish, a pig cooked on the outside but still alive and twitching on the inside. But of course he makes it clear that his writing is very much planned -- he includes an observational point of questioning if someone really understands what you've told them. Like that, Burrough's is working emotionally subtly; his descriptions of sex, too, are quiet and understated, if included at all. There are some dream sequences that anticipate Burroughs' later novels, but for the most part this is fairly straight-ahead storytelling. Steve Buscemi apparently wants to make a film of it, and if you've seen his "Trees Lounge" you may get a feel for what the novel is like.
Book Review: Full of compassion
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is so sad. Borroughs constant neglection and isolation is so dramatic that we probably all feel very sad about his experiences. "Queer" is a book describing a man's search for his identity and recognition in Society. Wonderful book that really needs to be read by everyone.Book Review: Genius
Summary: 5 Stars
A satisfying post-Junkie novel. A quick read and a deeper look into William S. Burroughs weaknesses, sexuality, and seldom talked about murdering of his wife Joan, (interesting introduction). As an ex-junkie, reading a novel of junk sickness and the devastating love and lust that seemingly goes with it, is a great find. Not to mention I've fallen in love Burroughs' candid (and sometimes abominable) writing style that's loaded with wit and intelligence.Book Review: God, can you imagine a more easy read?
Summary: 5 Stars
A brilliant, bare book of an intense, one-way homosexual relationship, and the tale of unrequited love on any level. Burrough's describes the feeling of giving yourself and getting nothing in return beautifully. A must for the loved and lost masses. A good place to begin your Burroughs reading list as it's one of his most coherent books.