This is less of a story and more of a book written by a man absolutely blasted on opium. He's also a beatnik, so he was already kind of "out there" to begin with. There is no real story here. It's just a man who is writing what he wants, when he wants, and how he wants. If you go into it expecting a traditional structure, you will not find it. Go somewhere else.
But what is there is really very interesting, if you are willing to just relax a bit. There are thoughts and ideas sort of blasted at you from the author's pen. A lot of drug use. A lot of sex. A lot of extremely violent and gross stuff. Stuff I cannot even go into in this blog. This book has probably offended a lot of people, but at the same time, this book has been a soldier for free speech in both America and Europe. I guess that's the point. Maybe it's something else. I don't really know. The book reads like gibberish.
But that gibberish is often poetic and interesting in its presentation. Once you get past that you probably are not going to understand most anything you are reading, it becomes a lot easier to just... read it. And that's really all that's expected of you here. You are just supposed to read it and move on. Or don't read it. I don't think anyone will care if you do or don't. "Naked Lunch" just is what it is. It doesn't try to be anything it isn't. You are either going to like it or hate it.
Do I recommend it though? Well, see if you can't get ahold of one of the chapters. It doesn't matter which one. They can be read out of order. Read a few pages, and if you want more, go read the entire book. If not, move on--this book is not for you. It's really that simple, and I have nothing left to say on the matter.
This blog was written on August 14, 2024.
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I am currently reading the book. It is everything you say it is. I describe it as an unabashed stream of consciousness from someone deliberately out of his mind as he wrote it. The sexuality is generally homosexual but not entirely. The lust killing is the most interesting. Most of the victims are boys killed by men or monsters, and usually by hanging. A club was decorated with the dangling corpses of naked boys. The patrons were enjoying the grim show. Such violence is permissible in the Interzone, the hedonistic "utopia" in the novel.
ReplyDeleteI am enjoying the strangeness of this barely intelligible book. Much of its scenarios and descriptions are quite inspiring. I write weird stories, but never like this.
Yeah, it is a hard book to spoil, because of how it is written.
DeleteSome books are written in a very raw style. This can be both interesting and infuriating. It all depends on what you are looking to find.
ReplyDeleteNothing can be more raw then this.
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