A few months ago I was watching the Matt Dillon movie Drugstore Cowboy. It has Heather Graham, early in her career, mmmmm. Anyway there was this old man in the movie that by reading the credits learned that he was William S. Burroughs. My interest was piqued.
Found the book Junky, in a used bookstore. Published in 1953 this is a semi-autobiographical book that was written at the insistence of poet Allen Ginsberg.
The book is basically about the erratic and nomadic life of a heroin addict. Apparently such a life has been a part of the American culture for more than the last 100 years. The lifestyle is centered around the users quest for money as the means to prolong the habit.
Burroughs himself is unapologetic about his desire to alter his perceptions on life, an in that willing to try anything, drinking, homosexuality, theft, mugging, pushing and mainly, drugs. He discusses using morphine, heroin, cocaine, pot, Benzedrine, peyote and methadone to further thought alteration.
On the whole I was interested in the short book and read it quickly. Would not really recommend it to anybody who wasn't one who partakes.
In some background reading, learned that in 1951, Burroughs killed his wife in Mexico. An avid gun enthusiast, the couple was playing William Tell, trying to shoot an apple off her head, the bullet instead went through.
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