Naked Lunch

Dopefish · Post by **Dopefish** » Wed Apr 28, 2004 10:09 pm

I started reading Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs yesterday, I still have about 50 pages left but I need to say that it's one of the best books I've ever read.

If anyone wants to read something that's very fucked up, I highly reccomend you read it. It might be too offensive for some of you, so if you don't want to read about some taboo subjects, you would probably want to avoid it.

It's absolutly nothing like the movie with the same name BTW. The movie was awesome, but was only partly based on the book.

John The Ax · Post by **John The Ax** » Thu Apr 29, 2004 2:44 pm

What's the general gist of the book? Sounds interesting.

Dopefish · Post by **Dopefish** » Thu Apr 29, 2004 11:25 pm

It was written in the 50s by a homosexual junkie Beatnik, he says he barely remembers writing it because he was so high on junk.

It doesn't have a real plot that could be described, it's more like a string of events. It has a lot of drugs and a lot of sex (mostly gay). Since I can't think of a good description, here's the description from amazon.com:

Why has this homosexual ex-junkie, whose claim to fame rests entirely on one book--the hallucinogenic ravings of a heroine addict--so seized the collective imagination? Burroughs wrote Naked Lunch in a Tangier, Morocco, hotel room between 1954 and 1957. Allen Ginsberg and his beatnik cronies burst onto the scene, rescued the manuscript from the food-encrusted floor, and introduced some order to the pages. It was published in Paris in 1959 by the notorious Olympia Press and in the U.S. in 1962; the landmark obscenity trial that ensued served to end literary censorship in America.

Burroughs's literary experiment--the much-touted "cut-up" technique--mirrored the workings of a junkie's brain. But it was junk coupled with vision: Burroughs makes teeming amalgam of allegory, sci-fi, and non-linear narration, all wrapped in a blend of humor--slapstick, Swiftian, slang-infested humor. What is Naked Lunch about? People turn into blobs amidst the sort of evil that R. Crumb, in the decades to come, would inimitably flesh out with his dark and creepy cartoon images. Perhaps the most easily grasped part of Naked Lunch is its America-bashing, replete with slang and vitriol. Read it and see for yourself.

John The Ax · Post by **John The Ax** » Fri Apr 30, 2004 8:14 am

... Interesting...

Heliotropic · Post by **Heliotropic** » Mon May 23, 2005 1:47 pm

The plot is incoherent and makes little to no sense. It is no doubt a classic book but one must keep in mind not to become to frustrated when they think they don't "get" it because there really isn't much to "get". W.S.B. went on to write more coherent - but still bizarre to no end - stories such as the Wild Boys and the trilogy that starts with The Ticket That Exploded (I'm not sure if it was ever given a title). If you're looking for something along the same lines as naked lunch but with a more coherent plot I suggest checking out these titles as well. He also wrote a book about his love for cats, I guess it just goes to prove how bizarre W.S.B. really was.

Kezpipa · Post by **Kezpipa** » Sun May 29, 2005 3:18 am

The name rings a bell. Sounds cool - I will keep an eye out for it.

Shadow Wolf · Post by **Shadow Wolf** » Fri Jun 24, 2005 9:50 pm

I am reading it right now. Quite interesting, just the sort of book I enjoy. It was banned until the '60's.

lakerzz8 · Post by **lakerzz8** » Sat Jun 25, 2005 12:07 am

A book that features a lot of gay sex, I think I'll pass but I can see why it's a book youd enjoy WFH

Shadow Wolf · Post by **Shadow Wolf** » Sat Jun 25, 2005 12:29 am

Shut up. Its not about gay sex. You sicko.

lakerzz8 · Post by **lakerzz8** » Sat Jun 25, 2005 12:42 am

Dopefish wrote:a lot of sex (mostly gay)

I'll leave it at that because I don't want this topic locked or anything.