541. Naked Lunch

Naked Lunch
William S. Burroughs
1959
Around 290 pages

William S. Burroughs killed his wife, and I really wish he didn't have four novels on this List. But the beat goes on, and things are going to get even grosser than they are already. I actually own this book, because I borrowed it from my brother's girlfriend and then they broke up. It's my favorite grift to run, it's also how I got a book of Chekov plays. 

There's not really a plot here, it's more of a hallucinatory nightmare that lasts nearly 300 pages. It's violent and disgusting, and heroin is bad. Like his repulsive ancestors, Marquis de Sade and Comte de Lautreamont, Burroughs is doing his best to shock us. I don't believe there is much else here.

I also had to watch the movie for the 1001 list, so I've really received the full Naked Lunch experience. I do like the title, but that wasn't even Burroughs' idea, so I can't give him credit.

RATING: *----

Interesting Facts:

Burroughs said that Jack Kerouac suggested the title.

Banned in Boston and Los Angeles. The ban was lifted in Massachusetts by the state supreme court in 1966, with Norman Mailer supporting the work with his testimony. Norman Mailer also tried to kill his wife, so I guess he was a fan.

UP NEXT: Billy Liar by Keith Waterhouse