Product Description

Before his 1959 breakthrough, Naked Lunch, an unknown William S. Burroughs wrote Junk, his first book, a candid, eyewitness account of times and places that are now long gone. This book brings them vividly to life again; it is an unvarnished field report from the American postwar underground. For this definitive 50th-anniversary edition, eminent Burroughs scholar Oliver Harris has painstakingly re-created the author's original text, word by word, from archival typescripts. Here for the first time are Burroughs's own unpublished Introduction and an entire omitted chapter, along with many "lost" passages and auxiliary texts by Allen Ginsberg and others. Harris's comprehensive Introduction reveals the composition history of Junk's text and places its contents against a lively historical background.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #27274 in Books
• Published on: 2003-04-01
• Released on: 2003-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

About the Author
William S. Burroughs (1914-1997)-guru of the Beat Generation, controversial éminence grise of the international avant-garde, dark prophet, and blackest of black humor satirists-had a range of influence rivaled by few post-World War II writers. His many books include Naked Lunch, Queer, Exterminator!, The Cat Inside, The Western Lands, and Interzone.

Oliver Harris edited The Letters of William S. Burroughs 1945-1959. He is currently a lecturer in American Literature at the University of Keele.

Customer Reviews

Dated, But a Good 'Diary' Of Drug Addiction!!!
Mild by today's standards, I can imagine the sensation this book caused when it came out. Burroughs describes life as lived by the junky, getting hooked, kicking, getting hooked again, busted, kicking, hooked again, kicking, busted again, hooked . . . briefly covers his `accidental' murder of his wife, Joan, in Mexico City when, while all stoned on H, he shot her in the head while she stood still w/ a bottle on her head, a gag they used to play to impress company, & some of the anachronistic scams he used to pull to earn money for his habit. Well-written, quite sober & clear (considering Burroughs' later style) & exciting enough to keep the pages turning. No real literary merit & the cure he claims to have discovered has been discounted by the `experts,' but all in all an excellent read, especially if you they happen to have it in the prison library.
Don't be surprised if it's missing from your local library, like all of Bukowski's stuff. I, uh, misplaced my card & besides, building a library w/ windows that open is just begging for unauthorized `borrowing.'

rizzob.com

Not what you may expect
Like many, my introduction to William S. Burroughs was Naked Lunch; a book that may very well be the most authentic description of a drug addict's personal, nightmarish hell. I picked up Junky afterwards, not knowing what to expect, and came away disappointed at first. "That's it?" was the thought ringing through my head, as Junky comes off as a straight forward tale of a drug addict on the brink, compared to the picture that Burroughs so vividly painted with Naked Lunch. Deciding to give Junky another chance and putting everything about Naked Lunch on the back burner, the book now comes off as a cautionary tale more than anything else. Burroughs weaves a harrowing, autobiographical tale of Bill Lee: a man with an Ivy League background who discovers the highs and joys of morphine and other members of the junk family, and the experiences that Lee goes through as he tries to kick the habit, only to fall back into it again and again. As said before, Junky is a more straight forward portrait of addiction, and when read side by side with Naked Lunch, comes off as the reality of Burroughs' drug raddled Hell. It definitely doesn't have the kind of impact of Naked Lunch, or even some of Burroughs' other works, but there is still something about Junky that resonates a powerful voice that one should always open an ear for. All in all, if Naked Lunch was your introduction to Burroughs as well, don't let Junky's more straight forward narrative put you off, as it is definitely worth your time.

Junk-Y
Junky: The Definitive Text of Junk by William S. Burroughs ***

To be honest I did not enjoy this very much. I am a massive Burroughs fan, he is easily one of my favorite authors of all time, and I have read nearly all his work, and enjoyed almost all of it. Junky is the exception to that. I at times felt the book to be, dare I say boring. Burroughs attempt at the occasional humor was dry and not witty like on most of his work. I found the plot, or lack there of really, to be bland and at times annoying. His style seems to even be strained here, which is sad considering he is one of the most original writers in American history, as well as one of the most underrated.

Now even this, the definitive text didn't save the story for me. I am not saying this was totally bad, so please don't get me wrong. Junky has lots of potential, and could have been one of his best works, but for me personally this just seems weak for an author of his stature.