Watched the David Cronenberg movie Naked Lunch before I read any of his books, and Sonic Youth seemed to be fans which impressed me.
First I read Junkie, which I thought was actually decent, then Queer which was also pretty great if sort of repetitive in certain descriptions, mainly the sexual ones, then Naked Lunch, The Soft Machine and The Ticket That Exploded.
I had read a lot about Burroughs in the works of other people I guess would be called “influencers” today, so I knew from Naked Lunch onward I was reading his “cut-up” material, where he literally cut pieces of sentences out of his previous books and other sources and arranged them like jigsaw puzzles.
While the idea behind that is fascinating, I’m not convinced the result produced anything truly coherent or enjoyably readable. Very much “art” books.
Queer and Junkie I fully appreciate and think are truly brilliant works, but interested in other opinions and discussion.
(yes, he killed his wife and was generally a total mess of a human being as far as I know, but maybe stick to the work he produced as much as possible unless it’s relevant to the books)
by simagus