Oh. Dear.

LOOK IT IS OKAY ALRIGHT I REPLACED THE LAXNES BOOK WITH ANOTHER ONE THIS ONE RIGHT HERE



AND I TRIED YOU KNOW I REALLY LIKED NAKED LUNCH BUT THE SOFT MACHINE JUST WASN'T DOING ANYTHING FOR ME I MEAN ME AND BILL BURROUGHS WE GET ALONG ALRIGHT BUT THIS SOFT MACHINE JUST WASN'T MAKING ME LAUGH THERE WAS NO DARK COMEDY OR ABSURDISM WHICH REALLY JUST LEFT ME WITH A LOT OF SEX AND VIOLENCE VERGING ON TORTURE PORN AND I DON'T REALLY LIKE THAT SO I STOPPED AT CHAPTER 9 AFTER HE THE NARRATOR WHOEVER HE IS HAD JUST FINISHED HIS MISSION HAVING GONE BACK IN TIME TO MESS WITH THE MAYAN PRIESTS AND THEIR MACHINE AND SO SETTING IN MOTION THE MAYAN CALENDAR AND THE COUNTDOWN TO THE END OF THE WORLD WHICH IS INCIDENTALLY NEXT YEAR

"Just like that — Just time — Just time — Don't care myself if the whole fucking shit house goes up in chunks — I've sat out novas before — I was born in a nova."

— The Soft Machine, William S. Burroughs

Naked Lunch - William S. Burroughs

buy - author wiki

The Deal: At this point in time, due to an RSI, I can only type for 10 minutes at a time. What you see below is what is hammered out before the timer goes off- and nothing more.

Andrew Macrae was with me when I bought this book, and mentioned that he was reading it at the time. When I asked him what he thought so far, he paused, and finally said that it was "like taking a shower in shit".

I bought the book because I loved the movie, not realising that the movie was not the book, the movie was more the story behind the writing of the book and the life of Burroughs. Soooo...I was quite unprepared for what was between the covers.

I'm not even sure I can tell you what the book is about. Does it matter? It's a classic, it's been well analysied and critiqued by people far more insightful than I. It isn't a story. There is nothing within that resembles a plot arc. It's just one long, rambling...ramble! About drugs, sex, homosexuality, hypocrisy, and...stuff?

Stuff.

I alternated between feeling more than mildly nauseated while reading, to laughing out loud. Generally both at the same time. I'm not sure any other book this year has made me laugh so much. It's absurd, surreal, there are real flashes of genius in there, in all that muck and filth and ewwwww squick. I was self-conscious reading it on the train. That was one book I wasn't sure I wanted people reading over my shoulder.

I...kinda loved it. Really.

But Macrae was totally spot on. It is exactly like taking a shower in shit.

Verdict: This is most certainly not for everyone.

Shark Puppet totally loved it too. He's in the covers. Heh.