Rating: 
Summary: The definitive Burroughs novel
Review: Junky is definitely an essential book for anyone into all types of literature. It's a candid and graphic tale of bohemia and self-destruction dealing with William S. Burroughs' addiction to narcotics, or 'junk.' Here, you get a graphic and disturbing account of the symptoms of withdrawl, being an outlaw, financial problems as a result of addiction, and what it ends up doing to yuor life. The breaking point is rather late at the book, which heartbreakingly depicts Burroughs living in Mexico, going through tremendous withdrawl, and many of his friends either dead from overdoses or incarcerated due to selling or possession of illegal substances.This new version of Junky shows the text in the original form, as Burroughs edited it, with none of the omissions from other publications of the book, and includes many articles that serve as 'forewords' to the book, as they were published in Junky's many versions, some by Burroughs himself, one by Carl Solomon and 2 by his longtime mentor, Allen Ginsberg.There is also a terminology, making it easier for the reader to understand the dialogue and the rather 'secret' words for drugs, sex and the like. Burroughs also wrote a 'myth VS reality' piece which is very interesting, to say the least. Junky may be an unpleasant read for some, but it is a very candid and amazing book, and one of the best novels of the 20th century.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent! wWnderful, easy read. Graphically accurate!
Review: 'Junky' has been criticized for lacking form, or even tact, but in that is its beauty. 'Junky' does not possess the atypical story arc that we are taught in high school English class, but this mimics the junky lifestyle. There is no thought of adventure for the junky. There is no sense of purpose other than the constant search for more junk. Burroughs makes this abundantly clear without being repetative. As for the graphic descriptions, this, too, adds to its atmosphere. Junkies in reality are not phased by their constipation, sores, or disgusting habits, and the matter-of-fact tone of the narration makes that clear. This book is one of those rare and beautiful works that truly gives you a feeling for what it is like to exist in that world.
Rating: 
Summary: Dated, but still powerful
Review: Originally published as a "pulp novel" (its lurid cover showing a man grabbing a voluptuous blonde from behind, drug paraphernalia strewn on a table in front of them), Burroughs's first full-length work of fiction and its Hemingway-style noir prose are quite unlike his more famous nonlinear works. The book was so shocking for its time (1953) that its publisher censored portions of the writing and peppered it with parenthetical disclaimers. The book starkly tells the story, based largely on Burroughs's own experiences, of the life of a junky--or, more accurately, how a junky's life revolves around nothing but junk. While the book is disquieting and dispassionate--and it's certainly more accessible than Burroughs's other works--it is interesting more as a historical document rather than a literary treasure. Much of the book (and not simply, as others have pointed out, the language) is dated. We, as readers, have become somewhat immune to such portrayals, and the shock value and aesthetic appeal of Burroughs's debut has been diminished over time by not only the works of other authors but also his own later works. The book's narrative is too disjointed to feel like a "novel," in part because Burroughs is so didactic. He correctly assumes that readers in the 1950s will know little if anything about drug culture, and his narrative is interrupted by lecture-like sections. While he pulls no punches in his bleak depiction of addiction, he boasts some acutely ill-informed opinions (for example, his claim that cocaine is not addictive: "once the C [cocaine] is out of your system, you forget all about it. There is no habit to C.") And "Junky" should not be read as entirely accurate autobiography. Although Burroughs never glamorizes addiction or its effects, his narrative does embark on an extraordinary episode of wishful thinking. During a particularly nasty binge in Mexico City, his wife intervened, throwing his spoon and drugs on the floor; in retaliation, he "slapped her twice across the face." In the book, a few days later they separated, and she was living happily in Acapulco. In real life, however, during a similar dispute, Burroughs shot and killed Joan Vollmer--an event that damaged his reputation and haunted his reasoning for the rest of his years. Yet, in spite of its obsolete style and its disjointed narrative, its didacticism and its half-truths, "Junky" is still a powerful reminder of the monomania of addiction.
Rating:
Summary: See the twisted and depraved existence of the heroin addict!
Review: While William Burroughs is best known for NAKED LUNCH, a brilliant novel about the hallucinations of a heroin addict, those unfamiliar with his work might want to start with something that is a little bit more coherent. For the uninitiated, JUNKY is as great a place to start as any. The book is essentially a series of events in the life of a junkie, with only the bare remnants of a plot to hold it all together. Such as it is, the book follows the life of Bill Lee as he struggles to maintain his composure (and his constant supply of narcotics) in New York City and, eventually, Mexico. Those familiar with David Cronenberg's fantastic cinematic adaptation of NAKED LUNCH will find that his movie takes Burroughs' whacked-out conventions and hallucinations, and applies them to the basic outline of this novel. Unlike Burroughs' NAKED LUNCH, JUNKY is written in a way that's easy to understand, although the book sometimes slips into the nightmarish images and situations that populate much of Burroughs' more surreal works. Throughout the book, Bill Lee constantly slips in and out of drug addiction, all the while offering the reader such helpful tips as the proper way to shoot heroin. Although the book doesn't glorify the use of narcotics, Burroughs thankfully never comes across as being preachy. He simply creates a vivid and realistic portrait of what it means to be a junkie, all in the inimitable Burroughs style! In addition to all of the drug use, the book also explores the many bizarre practices that Bill Lee indulges himself in, such as a particularly humorous account of pick-pocketing unsuspecting citizens in the subway! Although the language that Burroughs uses is dated by today's standards, the book still holds up as an endlessly fascinating account of drug addiction. The novel even ends with a glossary of terms that Burroughs picked up from hanging out with young beatniks. If there was ever any author that accurately personified the term "hip", it was William Burroughs!
Rating:
Summary: Down the Road of Addiction
Review: This was the second time that I have read this book. This is the only book by William S. Burroughs that I have read, but I plan to read many more. Burroughs takes us through a dizzing tale of addiction that leaves the reader changed. We start the story with the Narrator, Bill Lee, telling us of his seemingly normal upper middle class upbringing in which he seemed to be a normal enough boy, besides having homosexual tendencies at a young age. I am not speaking against homosexuals here, I am just stating that Bill is not trodding down the path that has been beaten into our heads as normal. Bill is first introduced to morphine by a guy who is trying to get rid of a Tommy gun. he also has a number of morphine syrettes that he wants to get rid of. It is soon after that that Bill takes his first hit of morphine, and so the road of drug use and addiction begins. Burroughs tells the tale of a drug addict without preaching that drugs are evil or speaking of drug addicts as enlightened folk. He tells a straight forward tell in which the reader, many like myself almost completely unknowledgeable about the world of drugs, is introduced to the ways junkies live, at least in the 40s, each day just wanting to get his next hit. the story takes us from New York to Texas to New Orleans to Mexico city, but the story remains the same: where to get the next fix. A good little book that really opened my eyes
Rating:
Summary: An easier to follow version of the life of a heroin addict
Review: By far, this book is much easier to follow than Burroughs' book "Naked Lunch". "Junky" gives a better idea of what the day to day life of a heroin addict is like. One thought which stands out in my mind is Burroughs' explanation of heroin addiction. At first, you take junk for the high, than you take the junk to prevent the sickness that comes from withdrawal. The high is non-existant at this important, and becomes irrelevant. The adventures of Bill Lee take him from New York to Mexico in "Junky". Bill seems to be consistently trying to kick the habit. However, the logic to his quitting is flawed because he tries to replace one addiction with another. This is the source of his adventuresin "Junky". One problem I have with this book is its lack of an apparent plot. However, this may be intentional because the life of a junky also lacks apparent meaning.
Rating:
Summary: Certainly Burroughs' Best
Review: What can I say? "Junky" is Burroughs' masterpiece. We follow Burroughs' journey from drug-free to literal and physical "Junky", meeting a set of intriguing characters on the way. Taking place at a time when poverty was enormous and morale was low, we watch as Burroughs and various companions enjoy the ecstacy and pain of chronic drug addiction. I love the down-to-earth and honest prose, and I felt both pity and respect (if that's possible) for many of the characters, Burroughs included. "Junky" is certainly essential Beat reading, and it's one of my top 15 books of all time.
Rating:
Summary: What you see is what you get...
Review: Most serious readers have experienced a Beat phase in their reading careers...or should. Mine mainly centred on the works of Kerouac and Ginsberg with a spat of McClure and Burroughs thrown in for good measure. Through the years ~Junky~ would make an appearance, however the opportunity never presented itself to crack its covers. The book would manfest from time to time, simply to remind me that it still existed. I finally read ~Junky~ last week and it blew me away. Despite the fact that William S. Burroughs has been thrown into the Beat literati, ~Junky~ doesn't seem to fit. The book is a one off, an important artefact of history - a testimony to an unfortunate human predicament and a way of life that is all too real; and societies ignorance, intolerance and exploitation of the condition, and its continued hypocrisy. What I found interesting is that nothing has really changed since ~Junky~ was first published two generations ago. Drug addiction is still a 'moral issue' for a lot of people, including the addiction to alcohol. To be fair, as a society, we've probably made a little progress in the last fifty years, in terms of our understanding and treatment of drugs, but there is still a long way to go. William Lee, a middle class, educated individual of relative privilege, tells the story of his introduction to junk, subsequent addiction and his on-going hellish relationship with the demon. This testimony is not a posing, romantic portrayal of a hip drug user, living an artistic, bohemian existence amongst poets, painters and musicians, all creating great works of art and having a wonderful time. ~Junky~ is an honest account concerning the 'vicious circle' of addiction, and the many attempts by those afflicted to escape the circle, but once you're in it, there's really no getting out - entirely. In fact it was Burroughs who coined the phrase: "Once a junky always a junky." And this is the tragedy. After closing the book, I had a eerie feeling that I was holding something important in my hands. It ceased to be merely a book and became something else...a relic of a bygone era, its peculiar venacular, attitudes, dreams and nightmares. I believe it would be a mistake to include this book in any literary category for it stands alone, without pretence or device...because with ~Junky~ what you see is what you get.
Rating:
Summary: CHARMING!
Review: Burroughs' writing here is a unique and successful blend of autobiography and detached journalism, unprecedented for that time. The prologue gives Junky an air of authenticity from the outset as the author briefly describes his childhood before plunging into this narrative of a journey - teeming with colorful low-life characters - from the Midwest to New York to Texas to New Orleans, a farm in the Rio Grande Valley, & finally Mexico in his relentless pursuit of the heroin trip. There is a certain aloofness in the style, giving the reader the impression that you're only witness to a restricted part of the protagonist's experiences. For example, the text makes vague references to his wife who obviously journeyed and indulged with him, but no more is told of her, poor Joan. Although "Queer', which is a more rounded novel, filled in many pieces of the jigsaw, it was only upon reading Ellis Amburn's "The Subterranean Kerouac," that this novel finally made sense and I began to see a fuller picture of Burroughs, his wife and their contemporaries. Anyway, this is a piece of brilliant writing on many levels. The book concludes with a glossary of "junk lingo" or "jive talk" - so that's what the BeeGees were singing about?
Rating:
Summary: short but good
Review: This was a short novel by Burrough's, but I thought it really connected with the reader. I've never used "junk" and never will. Burrough's writing is blunt yet descriptive. If you're looking for a book to read, it's Junky.
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