Queer: A Novel by William S. Burroughs Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Queer: A Novel
Book Review: Good
Summary: 4 Stars
Unlike those Burroughs 'fanatics,' I dig Burroughs more straight, earthy work, a la Junky, Western Lands (etc.), and of course, Queer. Queer is an excellent follow up to Junky, and yes, is very easy to read, which sometimes, like this time, works for the better. Naked Lunch is fine - funny, witty, unrelenting. Cut-ups - not necesarilly for me. Give me Junky, Queer, etc.Book Review: Naked Lunch Beta... better than I expected
Summary: 4 Stars
Naked Lunch is one of my favorite novels, but most of WSB's other materials never satisfied me as much. I was hesitant to give Queer a shot, but figured I'd try. Glad I did.
Technically, there's very little plot here: the narrator has gotten rid of the monkey on his back and his libido is slowly returning, so he haunts Mexico City bars hoping for a hook-up. What the book lacks in plot, it makes up in spades with odd characters and unusual dialogue, plus the wonderful descriptions WSB has that knack for knocking out.
As a Naked Lunch aficionado, I was especially surprised to see direct references to it in this, plus some chunks were lifted out of here for the Cronenberg film.
If you like Naked Lunch, give it a go. At just over 100 pages, you can probably read it in one night (like I did.)
Book Review: Queer Burroughs
Summary: 3 Stars
This book has been sitting on my library shelves for a couple of years untouched. Since it was William Burroughs, and looked like a fairly quick read, I decided to pick it up. Burroughs is one of the seminal American authors of the underground gay experience, right? I thought it would be like reading Alan Hollinghurst on cocaine - something I was looking forward to.
But I was highly disappointed. The novel's plot revolves around gay two heroin addicts, William Lee and Eugene Allerton. Lee's attraction to Allerton is completely and painfully unreciprocated. Despite all of Lee's attempts (which come in the form of embarrassing barside disquisitions in Mexican cantinas) to win Allerton's affections, it is all for naught. They decide to travel in search of some hallucinogenic drug which can only be obtained in the remote rainforest, and Lee promises to pay Allerton's way if he has sex with him a couple of times a week. In the end, the reader gets the impression that the quest for the drug is upset, much like Lee's wish for Allerton to love and appreciate him. The structure of the novel seems unmotivated and disinterested. It really seems to have no narrative "drive." I'm certainly not a reader that needs an action-packed novel by any stretch of the imagination, but there is nothing that compels the reader to keep reading - not even a chance of catching the two characters in licentious acts.
But for anyone out there that wants to discover Burroughs for themselves, I definitely recommend this as a first step: it is immanently readable, unlike some of Burroughs' later, more experimental fiction. For this reason, it is a perfect choice for readers who have not hitherto been introduced to some of the more difficult aspects of twentieth century fiction, like non-linear narration, that symptom of dread postmodernism.
Book Review: Queer is tasty
Summary: 4 Stars
The good thing about this book is that is it so simple to read. The words flow perfectly and you dont get tripped up on huge words that nobody knows. The actual story is about a homosexual smack addict and you really feel for the character. You are hoping the best turns out for him and his lover. The character is very likeable. I only gave it 4 stars because the book in the end goes nowhere. Not a great ending, but definitely an enjoyable book.Book Review: Straigh Forward and Brilliant
Summary: 5 Stars
Burrough's earlier works are probably his best ones in my opinion. His later stuff is too abstract and too far out to make for an enjoyable read. However, this book tells a story in a simple and straight forward manner. I highly recommend this book as a good starting point to the world of William S. Burroughs. Some of the later stuff that features the infamous cut-up technique works better on his spoken word albums because that stuff is more like poetry anyway. Also, I should mention that the forward in this book is amazing and is some of my favorite writing by Burroughs.