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Junky (Essential Penguin) (Paperback)

by William S Burroughs (Author) "My first experience with junk was during the War, about 1944 or 1945 ..." (more)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 176 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin; New Ed edition (25 Feb 1999)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0140282696
  • ISBN-13: 978-0140282696
  • Product Dimensions: 17.6 x 11 x 1.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 255,282 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #22 in  Books > Fiction > 20th Century Classics > Burroughs, William S.

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Product Description

Product Description

'Junk is not, like alcohol or weed, a means to increased enjoyment of life. Junk is not a kick. It is a way of life.' William Burroughs, legendary drug addict, founder member of the Beats and author of Naked Lunch, relates with unflinching realism the highs and lows of mainlining smack, from initial heroin bliss to dependency, the horrors of cold turkey and back again.


About the Author

William S. Burroughs is the author of numerous works, including Junky, Naked Lunch, Interzone, The Cat Inside and the trilogy consisting of Cities of the Red Night, The Place of Dead Roads and The Western Lands. He lives in Lawrence, Kansas.
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My first experience with junk was during the War, about 1944 or 1945. Read the first page
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Customer Reviews

16 Reviews
5 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Unique & Compelling, 3 May 2002
By Pieter "Toypom" (Johannesburg) - See all my reviews
(TOP 10 REVIEWER)   
Burroughs’ writing here is a unique and successful blend of autobiography and detached journalism, unprecedented for that time. The prologue gives Junky an air of authenticity from the outset as the author briefly describes his childhood before plunging into this narrative of a journey – teeming with colorful low-life characters - from the Midwest to New York to Texas to New Orleans, a farm in the Rio Grande Valley, & finally Mexico in his relentless pursuit of the heroin trip.
There is a certain aloofness in the style, giving the reader the impression that you’re only witness to a restricted part of the protagonist’s experiences. For example, the text makes vague references to his wife who obviously journeyed and indulged with him, but no more is told of her, poor Joan. Although “Queer’, which is a more rounded novel, filled in many pieces of the jigsaw, it was only upon reading Ellis Ambrose’s “The Subterranean Kerouac,” that this novel finally made sense and I began to see a fuller picture of Burroughs, his wife and their contemporaries. Anyway, this is a piece of brilliant writing on many levels. The book concludes with a glossary of “junk lingo” or “jive talk” – so that’s what the BeeGees were singing about?
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28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An accurate and honest portrayal of heroin addiction, 23 Aug 2003
Having personally experienced heroin addiction, I was intrigued and keen to read Junky and I wasn't disappointed. Although Junky was published in the 1950s, it's excellent depiction of drug addiction and the associated lifestyle hasn't aged in the slightest (although disposable needles and syringes - 'works' - have replaced eyedroppers).

What I particularly liked about Junky, is that Burroughs isn't remotely self-pitying, even when he describes 'taking the cure' in a hospital and going through bouts of 'junk sickness'. Burroughs also manages to keep the reader completely focused on the book, with eager anticipation about what's going to happen next. Although Junky isn't a particularly long book (it only took a few days to read) it's like a slow-release euphoric experience from beginning to end!

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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A classic of the early Beats, 6 April 2002
By J. Evans "dequincey" (Cardiff, Wales) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Junky is William Burroughs's first novel, and one of his most important....Don't let the first person narrative fool you, this is not an autobiography in any usual sense. Burroughs himself described it as a 'travel book.'
Unlike the cut-up novels this novel easily engages the reader. There is a narrative, even if there is no narrative development towards a repentant self realsation that would be expected in a confessional novel.
If you have read On the Road then you'll appreciate Junky.
If you have read Naked Lunch then this might come as something of a surprise. But don't berate the book for that. It might not deconstruct a logical narrative development. Or for that matter it doesn't deconstruct the liberal humanist individual. But it does reveal Burroughs the genius....
If you are familiar with Burroughs allready then Junky is well worth buying.
And if you aren't... buy this book. You'll never look at eye droppers the same way after reading this.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The one and only by Maria Pilar Browning
This has to be a classic example of the beat generation. It is always an amazing experience to read anything by the one and only, the master, Mr William S Burroughs, but this has... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Maria P. Browning

4.0 out of 5 stars Adventures in early drug culture
In comparison to some of his other works this is an easy reading uncomplex treatise on the writers early life in the hipster underground. Read more
Published 2 months ago by nicholas hargreaves

4.0 out of 5 stars A Better Beat - Minus the Shock
I appreciate Junky for not being 'On the Road'. It is a good representation of the Beat era with a serious subject yet manages to NOT be pitiful or self-absorbed. Read more
Published 3 months ago by silvershakespeare

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Beat Novel
This is an essential novel to read if, like me, you're in to the writers of the beat generation. It is the first Burroughs novel I have read but it won't be the last. Read more
Published 7 months ago by I. M. Knight

3.0 out of 5 stars More Than Journalism, Less Than Ethnography
It is often said that 'Junky' was revolutionary when it was first published in the early 1950s. As a confessional account of heroin addiction that did not shy from ugly truths, it... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Pablo K

5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful&Brutally Honest ;Beautifully Wrote
Whether you have any interest in addiction, or you just wanna good read, put this in your "Works". Unlike so much of Burroughs,this is an easily read,straight-forward &... Read more
Published on 1 May 2007 by Dr Benway

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent edition.
Will Self's introduction is an excellent essay. Whilst I do not agree with sections of it, his contextualising of the novel as an existentialist text is a very interesting take on... Read more
Published on 9 Mar 2002 by Martin Brown - martinpilchard@...

5.0 out of 5 stars Raw
A raw and unforgiving portrayal of 40's America. Stark and vivid, it shows culture not as the Uncle Sam patriots, but as junkys, bums, thieves, and queers. Read more
Published on 6 April 2001 by Thomas J. Green

4.0 out of 5 stars Queasy semi-autobiography of legendary literary drug fiend
Burrough's account of life as a heroin user really comes to life in spoken word form, as the author's reptilian diction wrings every last drop of croaked and strung-out junk... Read more
Published on 22 Nov 2000 by t.welch@virgin.net

5.0 out of 5 stars Cutting edge
Do you remember the way in which "Trainspotting" was greeted a little while back? Can you imagine the effect that this book would have had when it was published... Read more
Published on 12 Jan 2000

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