The Wild Boys: A Book of the Dead

Rating:
Summary: Wild Boys, not for the faint of heart, but a wonderful piece
Review: If you liked Naked Lunch, you'll love Wild Boys. William S. Burroughs, in my opinion, one of the great American authors of the twentieth century, offers a tremendously beautiful and rich view into not only his mind, but our own in this book of the dead. Though woven with very visual secenes of homosexuality and even violence, Wild Boys is a rich and intense journey through the ideas of a beatnik and a modern philosopher, who happened to philosophize while addicted to many controlled and illegal substances. Wild Boys paints a picture of a post-apocalyptic world where bands of young boys live on the fringes of society, sometimes terrorizing those who would wander from society to the deserted lands beyond. Wild Boys and Naked Lunch are some of the ew books that have actually changed my perception of the world around me, and I am a different, and I would like to think better person for haveign experienced the "mind blow" that is Burroughs. Read it if you want to experience a new world.

Rating:
Summary: Wild Boys, not for the faint of heart, but a wonderful piece
Review: If you liked Naked Lunch, you'll love Wild Boys. William S. Burroughs, in my opinion, one of the great American authors of the twentieth century, offers a tremendously beautiful and rich view into not only his mind, but our own in this book of the dead. Though woven with very visual secenes of homosexuality and even violence, Wild Boys is a rich and intense journey through the ideas of a beatnik and a modern philosopher, who happened to philosophize while addicted to many controlled and illegal substances. Wild Boys paints a picture of a post-apocalyptic world where bands of young boys live on the fringes of society, sometimes terrorizing those who would wander from society to the deserted lands beyond. Wild Boys and Naked Lunch are some of the ew books that have actually changed my perception of the world around me, and I am a different, and I would like to think better person for haveign experienced the "mind blow" that is Burroughs. Read it if you want to experience a new world.

Rating:
Summary: You All Are Beatnik Sheep
Review: Quite simply this was the most tastless and ignorant piece of literature I have ever read. It seemed as if the book felt like convoluting any actual storyline with scenes of gratuitous and repetive sex. Is it just me or does everyone in this damned book seem to carry a tin of vaseline? I thought there were some interesting parts but, call me a prude or an ignorant little ... but I think this book was riding on the current of the Naked Lunch which has been the wave on which Burroughs had carried his wrinkly disgusting body upon. This book is pretty much like a David Lynch film. No one gets it, they just talk about it and pretend that they do so they look intelligent but quite simply they are just beatnik sheep ready for slaughter by the corporate identity you have tried so hard to avoid with your lies and propaganda of free intellectual thought, which is disguising your true ignorance and gullibility

Rating:
Summary: Not everyone's cup of tea...
Review: The back cover of my copy describes Wild Boys as 'an apocalyptic vision of global warefare' so I can understand one of the previous reviewer's surprise at finding the story populated by scantily-clad, homosexual boys. I wouldn't recommend this for first time Burroughs readers. Don't get me wrong - Wild Boys is an interesting read. In it you'll find some conventional narrative alongside examples of Burroughs' surrealist 'cut up' technique. It's hard to explain but certain phrases will recur throughout a chapter in varying contexts. It gives his writing a dreamy, sometimes profound, sometimes non-sensical quality. Read 'Wild Boys' if you think you might appreciate this. Otherwise, go for one of his more conventional pieces like 'Junky' or 'Queer'. Both of these are relatively straight-forward and largely autobiographical so you'll learn a bit about the author as well. (Oddly enough, 'Queer' content is less explicit than some of the images Burroughs will confront you with in 'Wild Boys'.)

Rating:
Summary: This book is not what you think it is...
Review: The Wild Boys is advertised as an adventure book of sorts. While using an interesting writing style, be forewarned that this is a collection of homosexual fantasies with young men and boys. I am less than interested in this subject myself, so I found this book pretty unfulfilling in it's graphic descriptions of gay encounters. Thanks but no thanks...

Rating:
Summary: A new world, of danger
Review: This futuristic tale of a band of guerrilla boys fighting against the repressive police and government agents is told through Burroughs's imaginative style, which is more about creating atmosphere and using the language itself as part of the narrative web than about creating a sharply linear story. It's like an abstract painting through images and words, so it's difficult to elaborate on plot. Interspersed are pornographic scenes of gay sex between characters, which give the story a hallucinatory sensuality. The language rhythms become more accessible as the reader travels deeper into the story and enters the world Burroughs is creating, which isn't such a bad place to visit after all.

Rating:
Summary: Armed and dangerous
Review: This novel reminds me of Kevin Esser's Dance of the Warriors and of the Venezuelan movie Sicario. They all deal with worlds in which gangs of teenagers are engaged in violence and sex. This is the best of the three. It is disturbing and is not for the conventional, and certainly not for the bleeding-heart types who want the United Nations to abolish the use of boys in war. Only Burroughs could have written it. The style is as unconventional as the theme. This is a world in which morality does not exist.

Rating:
Summary: Armed and dangerous
Review: This novel reminds me of Kevin Esser's Dance of the Warriors and of the Venezuelan movie Sicario. They all deal with worlds in which gangs of teenagers are engaged in violence and sex. This is the best of the three. It is disturbing and is not for the conventional, and certainly not for the bleeding-heart types who want the United Nations to abolish the use of boys in war. Only Burroughs could have written it. The style is as unconventional as the theme. This is a world in which morality does not exist.