And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks (Unabridged) [Audio Download]

I am not a big fan of the Beat Generation, apart from the poetry - especialy Allen Ginsberg, but when I first heard that this book was going to be published I thought I must get a copy of this when it comes out in paperback - and now I have. Like a lot of people my age I look at the whole beat phenomenom and think strange, and I have never got into Kerouac's On The Road, the only novel of his that I tried to read but I was interested in what he and Burroughs had written about this infamous murder. Before Burroughs and Kerouac were famous they collaborated in writing this semi-fictional work on the Lucien Carr - David Kammerer case in what can only be described as a crime pulp style.

Writing alternate chapters William Burroughs wrote as Wil Dennison and Jack Kerouac as Mike Ryko they cover the normal day to day activities and events leading up to the murder. These include heavy drinking, getting jobs, women (no lurid descriptions of sex), drug usage etc. Indeed the lives of the characters leading up to the murder, and shortly thereafter. At the time they wrote this they did pass it around different publishing houses but it was never accepted for publication, possibly beacuse it isn't that particularly literary or sensational enough, and also because they were a long way from becoming household names. Nowadays this is more of a period piece showing mid 1940s New York and has a certain novelty factor in todays market - but don't let that put you off.

This book still makes fascinating reading, and those really into the whole Beat Generation or interested in true crime may find this of interest. It is of interest in seeing how two famous authors first started and how their style and technique altered over the years, and how due to them being called as witnesses and later becoming well known this murder still kept rearing its head. There is an excellent afterword by James Grauerholz which helps to place the real names to the characters (I did work out who some of them were only because I knew about the murder anyway), which people really into the Beat Generation will probably know. This isn't a great read, but it does keep you interested and is also a quick read. There is also some great humour - I particularly love the part where they go into a gay bar to have a drink and some sailors who have wandered in are complaining that there are no women (I am not the most observant of people, but I think that even I would know if I had walked into a gay bar). All in all then this isn't great but it is good.

If, like me, you are a big fan of Burroughs and Kerouac's eh 'solo efforts'; if you have raced through 'On The Road' while pitifully short on gas, and shot up on 'Junk' when you knew you shouldn't; if you have searched through 'Cities of the Red Night';if you have broken down in 'Big Sur' and shifted your way through all those frozen moments of 'Naked Lunch' then you will probably want to buy this book. It is the heretofore unpublished collaboration from 1944 between these two greats of Twentieh Century Literature, written as alternating chapters, one by Burroughs followed by one by Kerouac and on like that, from the point of view of William Dennison and Mike Ryko respectively. It tells the story of a crime from the point of view of two mixed up in it. It is apparently based on actual events. I wouldn't call it a work of juvenalia exactly, there is a lot to like here, but it doesn't reach the heights (or the depths) of either writer's later stylistic flourishes. It is in fact a pretty conventional novel. The main enjoyment for me was in seeing the differences between the two writers even at this embryonic stage, spotting the germs of what they would become. But I don't want to dissuade anyone from buying this at ALL! If you like the two writers' work then buy it by all means. I really enjoyed reading it. All I would say is 'Don't start here' if you've never before read Burroughs or Kerouac.

Authentical, exciting , finally published first book of the beat-writers Burroughs und Kerouac. Although rather rough in tone and content, it makes you laugh inevitably in some passages (mostly due to Burrough's dry remarks and striking descriptions of some persons' characters). It is especially to be recommended because it enables its reader to compare both writers' styles with each other due to the chapters being alternately written by one of them.
Burroughs (alias Will Dennison) shines as a stylistically in some places already brilliant narrator, being for most times (seemingly?)annoyed by his fellow men.
Kerouac (alias Mike Ryko) touches by subtle, almost romantic descriptions of his relationship to his later wife, without ever really saying a word about his feelings.
A must-read for all Beat-fans, but in my opinion also a good starting point for those who didn't dip into the world of Burroughs and Co. so far.