Naked Lunch

I am almost through with Naked Lunch by William Burroughs. When I bought the book, from Prospero's bookstore in downtown Marshall, the owner said to me, "This is a famous novel."

And so it is. It is the novel of the beat generation. Reading the jacket notes, it is praised by reviewer after reviewer.

Certainly it is a shocking book, which must have been Burroughs' intent. He will rip you right out of your middle-class recliner and throw you into the world of junkies. I find it both fascinating and repelling. It is a difficult read with much of it the dreams, make that nightmares, of junkies.

And there is a lot of sex, not regular sex, but all kinds of disgusting scenarios where people are killed in the middle of gay encounters. Semen and shit are flung on almost every page.

Would I recommend it? Yes, with a caution.

You need to be prepared for this. I did not really understand what I was going to be reading. If you don't have a fairly strong stomach, I would steer clear. But if you want to read a novel that is written on the extreme and does have something important to say, you might give it a try.

Just be ready.

Yours in rejection,

Phil