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Summary: The Vigilante Earned His Monniker...
Review: I have to admit that I was turned off when I first read this book by the nature of some of the more gruesome parts (and this was after reading Cities of the Red Night). But after listening to the sadly out-of-print recording made by Burroughs himself, I truly appreciated the brilliance and humor of this work. I particularly enjoyed the Chicago references, having grown up in a Clark St. rooming house off Lincoln Park.
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Summary: Naked Lunch
Review: I am only half way through this book but already feel the need to give my opinion. This is a truly amazing book, even though it includes several ideas which some people may find affending. The language used is quite difficult to understand, so it's not an easy read, but with some concentration you uncover a wonderful storyline. The beginning is very intreging with the court case around naked lunch, this really launches you into the book. I have already orded another book by the author which I know I will enjoy!
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Summary: too much nastiness
Review: there was too many sick parts to this book for me to enjoy the good parts of it- I really had no desire to read about some pedophile (burroughs)...
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Summary: Amazing...as usual.
Review: I am no novice to William S. Burroughs, but this IS my first time reading Naked Lunch. I respect opinions of people who say this book was too "out there" for them, but I disagree with them. I read Junky, then Interzone, and now I am in the middle of Naked Lunch. I don't think it's premature for me to be writing a review before I finish it, because I know whether or not I like a book within the first 10 pages. I'm not too sure how many of you can relate to this, but for me, reading Naked Lunch is like listening to Mr. Bungle. If you never heard them, listen to a whole album, and you will understand. It is all so sporatic and surprising, yet flows so well and fits together perfectly. Once you get into the right mindset, nothing is confusing about this book...all of it has been crystal clear to me so far. I love it. And as soon as I am finished with Naked Lunch I am starting on his cut-up trilogy. Just because something is different or extreme and breaking the rules doesn't mean it's bad. In fact, in that case it deserves my utmost respect.
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Summary: reasoned criticism blahblah
Review: When people look back on the silly actions of past critics who used to slate some of our now-revered artists, we often think how could they not see the true beauty or message or whatever. Ah, but you have to understand what it was like at the time critics blinded by the shock of something genuinely new that doesn't fit with their preconceived ideas. Shame. I dont pretend to follow all of this book, its heavy to read through like a normal novel, it works far better if you just flip it open to any page and just read. This isn't always accepted in the mainstream as the revolutionary work that it is - it still shocks fourty years later - but who cares whether the "mainstream" accept it or not. As well as a sarcastic caustic satire, strange sci-fi trip and an intensely honest book - it stands as a giant finger up to the modern way of life (still) - give it a try... I
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Summary: Schizoid dimensions
Review: Naked Lunch is a 10.000-year-trip to the dark side of the spoon! Of course it's drug-induced and some scenes are really disgusting, but it is a highly innovative vision of a cybercpace-wasteland, a fever-dream of sex, drugs and freedom. No boundaries! You can start reading at any page you want, there's no "story" at all, just imaginative hallucinations, a pornograffity of a universal and enlightened mind. Sick at all, but isn't reality always sranger than fiction? I found it quite hard to read, sometimes the pandemonium of fascistic agents, hedonistic drug-takers and futureal cyberpunks really blowed my mind. But after i read it, i had the feeling of having discovered an author, who found the nucleus of a time to come. Frightening, but fantastic!
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Summary: Journey to Interzone
Review: The first time I read "Naked Lunch" I was 17 years old and wouldn't know "cut-up" from "collage" either in painting or in literature. I did, however, enjoy the book immensely and the images and sensations (some would say thrills) it provided were enough to get my teenage mind going in all sorts of directions. Five years passed and as I now read it again I can feel the same exhilaration I felt then. Surely it's a masterpiece, a truly innovative book that opened then, and should still open now, new paths for written expression. The subject matter may offend you, since it's very graphic in its descriptions of homossexual sex, drugs and other "violence". Just one last tip. As the author himself writes this book should be read not linearly but randomly, so to speak. Just open it on any page, any paragraph, any line, any word and start reading. Why should the way it was written not be the way it is read?
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Summary: an interesting book but a heacache to read
Review: i had a permanent wrinkle in my forehead while reading this book. The language was cut and stiff at times, and at others very vague. I found myself reading and re-reading each sentence in some hope to understand the meaning behind the jumble of words.
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Summary: A True Masterpiece Of 20th Century Literature
Review: It's been almost three years now since Uncle Bill scored the Immaculate Fix, but his spirit still lives on. This novel, Burroughs' greatest work was written in the late 1950's, a time when American pop culture reached untold heights of banality. Enter Naked Lunch - a double-barreled assault on truth, justice, and the American Way. No institution is safe, nothing is sacred, and the taboo is made holy, as capitalists, racists, fascists, homophobes, doctors, cops, Christians, and hypocrites of all sorts get their just desserts. Burroughs, a fortunate son born into wealth and power, dissects and destroys proper society in his prose, exploding mind bombs of words throughout. Veering somewhere between a bad acid trip and exact Swiftian satire, Naked Lunch remains the most original work of fiction ever written. A must-read for all serious students of literature, this is one of those books that you just can't "like" - you either love it, or you hate it. I absolutely loved it! This book also begs for re-reads as new insights are revealed with each reading. And please, PLEASE be sure to listen to Burroughs read the abridged version on tape! After completing this novel, Burroughs went on to invent the cyberpunk sub-genre of science fiction with his Nova Trilogy of novels. As Norman Mailer once opined, "Burroughs is the only American novelist living today who may concievably be possessed by genius." Squares need not apply. A word to the Wise Guy.
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Summary: Powerful and shocking, but not necessarily profound
Review: Naked Lunch will surprise you. I went into this book expecting complete absurdity and choas, but I found more choas than I thought possible. I read Naked Lunch for the Burroughs/Beat angle, but it is so completely different from other Beat Generation works (ie-Kerouac) that I didn't get much out of it in this respect. The writing is amazing. Burroughs' command of language is unparalleled and I found myself laughing out loud at some of the quirky phrases he uses. The writing also makes it hard to follow both the ideas and the "plot". I confess that I didn't get a lot of the ideas, but the sheer originality and creativity of the work makes it a worthwhile read.
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