Naked Lunch: The Restored Text [NOOK Book]

Unreadable - Stream of consciousness crap

As a pioneer of the beat generation authors, such as Kerouac and Ginsberg, I had wanted for years to see what insight Burroughs shared in his seminal work. Unfortunately this is just the addled ramblings of a drug fried brain. The major accomplishment seems to be that he got it onto the page.

1 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

A Masterpiece

Naked Lunch is an exercise in critical thinking. William Burroughs disguises his arguments using two quite different forms of writing. First, he covers his subject matter with carefully wrought, emotionally charged masks. These masks cover his critiques so thoroughly that few can see past them to the underlying criticisms. Second, Naked Lunch is purposely written as a disjointed amalgam of many small pieces which can only be understood by disassembling the portions and reassembling them into a new cohesive whole within one¿s mind. Burroughs¿ intent was to be inscrutable, to confuse and confound, leaving his readers aware of only that which is ¿superficial and relative¿. The reader cannot perform this act purposely. Burroughs says it can only be achieved by adopting a mind-set contrary to that of most Americans one must ¿learn to relax and wait for the answer¿. Burroughs¿ rationale, his real joke, in Naked Lunch is to satirize and disparage American culture in such a way that the well-educated and affluent leaders of the country at the time could not (and many still can't) understand his critiques of society. This unnatural act, delving beneath two layers of subterfuge to find understanding, is the ¿revelation¿ Burroughs offers and is the real truth behind Naked Lunch, a magnificent critique of 1950's society and a superlative example of literary art.

How To Skin Your Mother

The book 'How To Skin Your Mother' Has been Re-Named 'God Drug' and is still in assembly. Untill that comes out, read this(Naked Lunch)or see the Movie now on DVD

Not a best seller

I would not recommend Naked Lunch to anyone that would like to sit down and actually enjoy a book. Naked Lunch contains no solid plot,random storylines, and drawn out descriptions of useless information that if read 5 times, would then be able to relate it to bigger picture of society/postmodern trends or something like that.

WOH!

There is little to say other than WOH! When reading this book you become a part of it, and a part of the world described within. It is hard to imagine the world of psychedelic madness that is described and it is even harder to let go and return to this world. The book grabs you by the neck, beats the snot out of you and spits you out a withered, convulsing mess. It's pure madness and pure genius in one. There is no way to describe what the book is about because it is more of an experience than a novel. The only reason I didn't rate it 5 stars is that it takes quite a bit of studying to understand most of the book. Some of it is beyond understanding. This, I believe, takes a little away from the intensity. Imagine the rush of launching into the upper atmosphere on a shuttle and then skydiving without a parachute back to earth. That is what this book feels like.

metaphoric bliss

bills writings in this book will have you wanting to put it down just as much as it screams out to be picked back up.this book was borrowed to me by a friend who is a genius in his own right, i knew i wouldnt be let down.if you can sift through the entanglement of words and classic bill burroughs catch phrases, youll be dropped head first in the middle of graphic, self-destructing, helpless paralysis that is drug addiction. it gives you a glimpse of what a mind and world IS to a junkie and what horrible things are with them daily. theres also some humor, though it be dark, its still there.enjoy!

Absolutely genius

Naked Lunch is the best heroin documentary that one could find. Burrough's play with words is brilliant. I recommend this book to anyone that has a sense for great modern literature.

DEADSY likes this book

I personally have not yet read the book but I was on the official website for the band DEADSY (check em out, they're good) and one of the members had this down as their fav. book!!

0 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Naked Lunch. Forgot the meat.

Here we have a book, over looked and under credited. William's 'Junky' is definitely a book for young addicts or anyone for that matter. I read it when i was 15, and I had to re-read it approximately 3 times to figure out exactly what was going on. It is well written and describes scenes and events so perfectly, you, yourself might have to read it a few times over. I am currently reading 'Wild Boys' By william, and that too is a masterpiece. Both come highly recomended by an 18 year old kid who does not go to school.

BILLY CORGAN RECOMMENDS THIS BOOK!

i didnt really read this book, but at a smashing pumpkins website, billy said that he recommends everyone to read this wonderful book. P.S. BILLY IS GOD!!!!!!!!

0 out of 3 people found this review helpful.

best surealist wrighting

Never before had I read a book that I didn't quite understand but yet couldn't put down. When I read the first page, I was compelled to turn the next page- even though I didn't quite understood where the story was going. And this process went on until I finished it All in all, the story's writing was of a style that I could only describe as surreal. It truly was 'A cry from hell' as one of the critics put it and the main idea of the whole novel left me the impression that the nature of addiction truly is the result of the 'algebra of need' that functions in all of us

limitless

i love this book! burroughs has no boundaries to junk to homosexuality, this man will pour out his heart no matter how twisted and beautiful. i advise everyone to read this book. life isn't lollypops and mayberry and burroughs proves it.

A nightmare journey...wouldn't you?

Burroughs did more to redefine the novel than anyone since James Joyce. If you're going into this novel looking for narrative and a plot line...well, forget it. What you'll get are sketches, routines, and hallucinations depicting Burroughs' singular view of life. He sees sex and drugs as mere manifestations of the ultimate drug--control. If you've ever wondered what it would be like in hell, this should give you a pretty fair idea. I've never read anything like it before, and never will again. Burroughs' influence on today's writers cannot be discounted.

Serve Me Up Some Naked Lunch

Naked Lunch- a large serving of drugs, sex and hallucinatory characters. A well written book filled with stories of graphic defectation, drug shooting and scoring and fillled with strange characters, the frightening Dr. Benway and the odd, drug induced Mugwumps. I thought the book was great, a William Burroughs classic that should be thought of as an Alternative literary classic of said drug abuse and sex as well as showing the hallucinatory life of a chronic junky.

Lunch is Served

Burroughs was the first gay writer I had (knowingly) ever read, and he was the best. It's not the story that drew me in, but his use of words, images and descriptions that bring about a sense that individual liberty, the Constitution, and free choice is fragile and finite and, even in the early '50s, was slipping away unnoticed. If it wasn't for some of the subjects that Burroughs covers (homosexuality, drug use, a black-humor send up of the death penalty), this would be the perfect book for a high school English class. It's one of those rare books that can be read for both entertainment value and/or intellectual value.

Naked Lunch is on my plate

My dad bought me a copy of 'Naked Lunch' last Christmas. I read the first few pages and I loved it. However, school and it's required readings forced me to postpone my reading. My junior year, during final exams, I read most of, and eventually completed this book. I loved it. I was so enthralled by the author's word choice and his descriptions of events. I tried to get my brother to read it, but it freaked him out too much. My dad started to read it, but he never finished. I got another of Burroughs' books about dreams for my birthday. I thought it was very interesting, but then I was at my library, when I noticed a book called 'The Metamorphosis'. I became obssessed with this book because I could sympathize with the character, Gregor. Of course, I have never been turned into a bug, but I know what it is like to have people reject you because you are not exactly like them. I recieved 'Junky' for Christmas, and I have not been able to put it down. Burroughs just has this style of writing that no one else has. He was a great writer and definitely one of the biggest influences on writing as we know it. I highly recommend 'Naked Lunch'. It is one of my favorite books, and one of the greatest ever written.

what nightmares are made of

i see how some people fail to understand why Naked Lunch is indeed one of the greatest books of this century - the first contact with it leaves you shocked, disoriented. There is no real storyline one could easily explain, nor are the characters characterized at all - Burroughs instead creates atmosphere, litle bits of subreality, and ends up with a world that is in a way more real than it oughta be - he is not afraid of loading it with an incredible amonut of tiny stories, poems, events, descriptions and dialogues that dont have much to do with the 'main' story - as long as it's one huge nightmare, he keeps pushing it - and you simply have to enjoy it, even if you cant really tell why.

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