Junky

Rating:
Summary: A Contemporary Classic no matter what
Review: Although this is an incredibly short read, one cannot deny that Burroughs is a fantastic writer by the way he packs so much into a story so short. This is not only one of the most hilarious stories that I've ever read, but also one of the most interesting. After seeing movies such as Requiem for a Dream and Trainspotting, it's incredibly fascinating to hear the other side of the story from a credible source (since Burroughs draws greatly upon personal experience). Also, the appendices in this text are worth reading because they not only give one a glossary of the "jive talk" (for those who aren't familiar with drugs and whatnot), but also more succinct opinions and information. This story may not be the clearest depiction of all of the horrors of the junky lifestyle, but it certainly gives a highly introspective view, as well as something to ponder further because of background facts about the character (such as his wife and children that are most likely purposely excluded for the most part).

Rating:
Summary: Burroughs at his realist best.
Review: Burroughs writes pro-actively and this book is no change. Following Ginsburg 'Semi-compiling" Junky and Queer from letters whilst Burroughs was Opiated up, I knew what to expect. Mexico, The law, Drunk with Guns, Farming cotton, shooting up and New York with the hustlers and pimps in Bars. It's easy to note that Burroughs had an interesting life but experienced through the eye of Junk hazed addiction and vision. Noting anti-estblishment view on matters (namely 'The Junk') which he had first hand experience was not a matter to be taken lightly in 1950's America. This book is accessible and easy to read, the world in Burroughs head is clear and concise. Written in the first person, yuo travel to beat junk time and life with a detail for details. A drugs journey only to be rivaled by Hunter S. Thompson's 'Fear and loathing In Las Vegas', but with a much darker wit.

Rating:
Summary: a highly addictive read
Review: In "Naked Lunch," William S. Burroughs used hallucinations, sexuality, and nightmarish imagery to string along a 'plot' that was anything but traditional. While I found the book to be a gripping, thought-provoking read, I was downright surprised at the clear-headedness of "Junky," which is essentially a window into the life of a heroin user, circa early 1950s. Burroughs (as Bill Lee) illustrates his descent into addiction, from his first fix up until his habit builds to staggering proportions; the descriptions of a junkie's daily routine, from shaking down drunks in train stations to eluding police, are done using precise dialogue that incorporates a considerable amount of slang (an informative glossary is included in the book). "Junky" is a hypnotically engrossing read, a book that sucks you into the world of addiction and leaves you clamoring for more.

Rating:
Summary: A more constructed book than people here are letting on....
Review: Junky is a first hand tale of one man's life and drug addiction. It is a show of a slide into a world that most of its readers will never experience. It was something that at its time. immensely shocking. Beside these things, it is a really compelling tale and a wholly worthwhile read.....

BUT it is also a book that is of a tradition: Burrough's was largely borrowing the style and tone of the French author Louis-Ferdinand Celine (i.e. straight ahead, haunting, almost profane at every instance, black humor at its finest). Even though the author was a drug addict, he was a HIGHLY erudite and educated drug addict-- and because of that, the bitterness of his life is interpretted in a way that comes from a man who was influenced by the doom of Celine and the historian Spengler (another must-read) as well as the sort of devil-may-care attitude of Andre Gide....

Intellectual name dropping aside, this is a powerful book artistically BECAUSE of this stuff, the D.A.R.E. message aside (and I would suggest that other instances from his life-- shooting his wife in the head while playing William Tell foremost among them hint at a D.A.R.E. message better than the almost Trainspotting cinema-veritas stuff of this book). And it's a neat counterpoint to the writings of Kerouac for anyone who wants to run the 'Beats' together (but an interesting counterpart to Ginsberg-- who was, in a sense, Burrough's student as much as Lionel Trilling's....

I'd read this book.... it's good....

Rating:
Summary: The definitive Burroughs novel
Review: Junky is definitely an essential book for anyone into all types of literature. It's a candid and graphic tale of bohemia and self-destruction dealing with William S. Burroughs' addiction to narcotics, or 'junk.' Here, you get a graphic and disturbing account of the symptoms of withdrawl, being an outlaw, financial problems as a result of addiction, and what it ends up doing to yuor life. The breaking point is rather late at the book, which heartbreakingly depicts Burroughs living in Mexico, going through tremendous withdrawl, and many of his friends either dead from overdoses or incarcerated due to selling or possession of illegal substances.

This new version of Junky shows the text in the original form, as Burroughs edited it, with none of the omissions from other publications of the book, and includes many articles that serve as 'forewords' to the book, as they were published in Junky's many versions, some by Burroughs himself, one by Carl Solomon and 2 by his longtime mentor, Allen Ginsberg.There is also a terminology, making it easier for the reader to understand the dialogue and the rather 'secret' words for drugs, sex and the like. Burroughs also wrote a 'myth VS reality' piece which is very interesting, to say the least. Junky may be an unpleasant read for some, but it is a very candid and amazing book, and one of the best novels of the 20th century.

Rating:
Summary: Junky: a commonly misinterpreted work of brilliance
Review: Junky is the kind of novel that you cannot read until you abandon all pretenses. Forget for a moment that this was Burroughs' first book, put aside the fact that he was himself a junky, and put your personal opinions of drug use and abuse, as well as Burroughs himself, on hold. The attempt made by Junky as a piece of art is to honestly and fairly put forward an in-depth look at a side of American life that was virtually overlooked until its publication. The novel delves very deeply into a world that, though many would rather ignore it all together, has gotten progressively worse to this day.
Junky offers a detailed account of a drug addict's entrance into the seedy underworld, his daily search for a fix, the shady characters he must rely on, and the suffering he experiences while trying to fix himself. The purpose is to fully immerse the reader in the world of a man engulfed in addiction.
The hero is actually an intelligent man, who immediately recognizes the risk taken in his experiments with narcotics. He also realizes, although a little too late, the fact that he has become an addict himself, and now needs the drug for basic survival. He is also rational. He recognizes his dismal circumstances, but also recognizes his guilt in the matter, and in no way tries to gain sympathy from the reader. The hero is aware of what he has done to himself, and does nothing to deny his responsibility.
Junky in no way glamorizes drug use; on the contrary, in the sections that describe heroin as appealing, Burroughs is showing the immeasurable control the drug has quietly acquired over the user, distorting the addict's perception of what is happening to him.
Junky pulls the reader into a dark underworld of society and depicts a man's struggle to regain his life, or what's left of it after the plague of addiction is eliminated. Burroughs holds nothing back. He uses a method of detailing the more shocking parts of the hero's experiences with a calm and almost casual frankness. This slowly makes them seem less disturbing, and introduces the reader more and more to the addicts point of view. Burroughs even attempts to alter the reader's point of view, subtly bringing the reader closer to the mind of the junky, and eventually creating an unexpected affection for a seemingly unlovable character, who appears to have very little about him that is redeeming. You begin to care for this lost, pathetic man, as you watch him attempt cure after cure, method after method, finally having to flee the country to avoid prosecution. The reader can do nothing but look on, as each good intention crumbles, making the hero more and more incapable of escaping the grip of the addiction.
Burroughs states many times the degree of influence heroin has over the addict, illustrating how all other activities become less like life and more like a limbo of nothingness between scores. The junky's life is consumed. His days become more and more about scoring, leaving less and less room for anything else. By the time the hero becomes aware of having a problem, it is too late, he has become a slave to the drug. He doesn't need the heroin to simply get high; he needs the heroin because he cannot survive without it. Burroughs states the difference between other drugs, which are about the high they induce, and heroin: "Junk is not a kick. It is a way of life."
There are no hidden intentions in Junky. It does not aspire to create a greater sympathy for drug addicts, nor does it make any gallant attempts at scaring away potential users. Junky has no agenda, good or bad, for its influence in the world. It simply lays out the facts, leaving them for the reader to do what they want with them. The novel is a clear, concise, and direct journey into the mind and world of a man diseased, told in brutally honest narration, without a hint of shame or pity.
This is, in my opinion, a worthy piece of literature to invest the time into reading, not only for a Burroughs fan, but for any reader who enjoys thought-provoking subject-matter and stories containing complex and intriguing characters. Basically, anyone who appreciates well-written fiction has the ability to appreciate the dark, subtle wit and stark, desperate tone of Junky, as long as they read it with an open mind. It is a chronicle, a picture, a record of a dark way of life. And as that, it succeeds.