Rating: 
Summary: Junky's Spoon
Review: Whether you like this book or not has nothing to do with how stunning it actually is. I myself enjoy Burroughs' writing style, but aside from that his book rings true throughout, even today, and gives a relevant, if not totally bizarre, depiction of society and the people in it. READ IT.
Rating:
Summary: Only after three readings did this book finally hit me
Review: I don't want to sound stupid or something, but it took me three times to get through this book. It wasn't because I was offended or anything but because it was so weird in parts that it lost me. Determined that this book was not going to kick my butt I went back and read it, and this time finished it. And it blew my mind. There were parts of the book that I wouldn't call offensive (maybe because I'm not easily offended), but there are parts that are not for the weak of stomach...the whole affair with Slastubitch (I believe that's his name) comes to mind. Yet it's there for a purpose. Burroughs was pointing out just how ignorant and hypocritcial society of his time (and of our time too) was, and writing about Mugwumps secreting juices out of their penises was a sure fire way to do this. There are also parts of this book that I found to be downright hilarous, particularly anything involving a purple assed baboon. I've practically lent this book out to all my friends, or have convinced them to buy it. One of my professors here at RU told me that of all the beats, Burroughs was the true visionary of the bunch, and upon reading the Naked Lunch, his remark is easily justified.
Rating:
Summary: Stunning and Provocative
Review: I read this book in 3 1/2 days, after receiving a reccomendation from a friend. This book is absolutely unbelievable. It twists your reality and perception to new points. It mocks government and people, and shows what lies at the base of every human action; lust, greed and addiction. It shows humanity as its uncovered self, and exposes the bizarre society He has created. This book is deliciously warped and will blow your mind with its awesome descriptions and well-selected scenes. It is drugs sex and society. It is life. I highly reccomend this to anyone looking for a life-changing book. This book had me spell-bound, nothing like anything I had ever read before. I'm immediatly going to buy "Junky"-its sequel- now that I've finished "Naked Lunch." This book is a lot like one of its main characters (heroin) in how damn addicting it is. Get this book for a motivating and enlightening experience.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best works of letters and marks ever written
Review: People think Burroughs was some shortcircuit junkie with no idea what he was doing who, for whatever reason, got paid for his insane notes. Not so! Burroughs knew what he was doing. He just had an extremely odd vision of the world (and an interesting new writing style to tell the world about it). He saw irrationality in rationality. Reading Naked Lunch, you'll have to see vice versa if you want to learn anything. The going-ons in the book seem bizarre (and they are), but they're actually directly parallel to the going-ons of the modern world such as fascism and overall hypocrisy. And if you don't want to learn anything, good enough. This book is funny as anything, and it's good to have a laugh. The shock value is something to read too (this book works on so many levels). It's still more shocking than anything else out there. It's hard to imagine what people thought of this when it was published in the 50's (the fact that it was banned tells you something, I suppose). Read this book. Even if you're bound to hate it, I'd still reccomend it. Reading it isn't as hard some would have you believe. This book is just cool.
Rating:
Summary: To William Burroughs
Review: One of the most insightful, powerful, and extraordinary books ever written.
Rating:
Summary: Enlightning-
Review: I do not want to write much, but just to define how this book can change you, `open the door`, which is primarilary already there, just needing a prompting. This book can do that. To sum my thoughts up in very few word, as I do not want to write an essay, just a simple praise. Naked lunch can turn the ordinarily profane idea subject, something which is only mused in material context, and turnb it, through surreal imagery and explanation, into something incandesant or create a certain ominous resonance not to be forgoten. ISLAM INCORPORATED AND THE PARTIES OF INTERZONE was a particular favourite.
Rating:
Summary: TOTALLY DISGUSTING
Review: But enertaining. A million years ago my friends and I would get stoned open this book at random and read a passage outloud. " Ewwwww grody man, far out, like wow. " The thing is I dont recall ever reading a bit that was not at LEAST mildly disturbing. I was really torn between giving this book one and five stars
Rating:
Summary: A Counterculture Literary Classic: Essential Burroughs
Review: What else can I say, other than that this is "the" book that has brought William S. Burroughs the most fame(infamy?) and glory. Most people interested in Beat Literature choose Kerouac for insight, but I feel that Burroughs gets to the root of the Beatniks' most defining element: Drug use/abuse. His style is unrelenting. His prose harsh and ragged, not unlike himslef for some 15 odd years of his life in which he lived as a junky. I urge the reader to not read this book in sequence from beginning to end as a traditional novel. Instead, read a chapter or two at a time. Then, set it down and leave it alone for a day. The next day, return and continue reading. Each pargraph; each page is a message unto itself. Burroughs uses a rehab center in a place called Interzone, the character William Lee, and a sadistic orgy to help convey the over-all idea that the junky is a sad and tragic individual. But, what makes the junky so tragic is not his position in life. It is the sad fact that he put himself there in the first place. And, to spite himself, the junky's body must continue this act even though his mind says no. It is sad that this book has not been given the credit that it is due. Only at the end of his life did Mr. Burroughs begin to reap the rewards of his, and his comrades' work. As though he couldn't stand another minute in the world of the straight and narrow without a friend(Allen Ginsberg, the last Beat), he died after a life of extreme hardships and bittersweet success. Needless to say, this book sums up Burroughs' early life on the streets before any real intimations of success. It is not for the faint of heart, nor is it for those of you who prefer "popular" literature. It is for those of us who seek the truth, and read books about certain topics for an element of reality.
Rating: 
Summary: not just anybody
Review: I picked this book up after reading Jack Kerouacs 'On the road', but I must say that I'm pretty disappointed. It has some brigth sides, a sometimes laugh-out-loud humor, surreal characters that just makes you wonder if he was high all through the project, a language that absolutely won't disappoint you (pretty hard to follow though). But there's just no story to tell. I haven't read the whole book, and I'm not sure I'll do that. It's bizarre, weird and I don't understand how someone just 'gets it', because I didn't. The guy's probably a genius - a word-genius anyway - and I think that's just the problem. No normal intellectual person can understand his unfinished ideas and thoughts. It's just the cocain speaking...
Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't follow it...became frusterated
Review: Perhaps I just don't get it...Norman Mailer, Allen Ginsberg, thousands of readers all think Naked Lunch is the best thing since buttered bread: I find the structure unbearable, the content too confusing to get much out of. I had to stop reading this book in the middle. Perhaps I'll pick it up in a few years and find it more enjoyable.
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