Rating: 
Summary: Harrowing
Review: Little of the sprawling, stream-of-conscious style that would define William S. Burroughs's later work is found in his superb first novel, Junky. The narrative is straightforward, grim and dark. No spice is necessary is to intensify the subject matter. Junky is the story of Bill Lee, an aimless drifter who lets opiates or "junk" take control of his life. "You become a narcotics addict because you do not have any strong motivations in any other direction," Burroughs explains in the prologue, "Junk wins by default." It is upon that idea that Junky progresses. Little about how the main character feels or thinks is discussed, but information about the effect of junk, how it is peddled, how cure programs work and how junkies form subcultures in inner cities is revealed in great detail and that is Burroughs's masterminding. Junk has taken control and Lee's being slowly becomes a mere vehicle for his addiction. It becomes the main character. The effect is one of harrowing sadness for the reader and one of fascination for those of us with an interest in narcotics addiction. Junky is less a book I would recommend to fans of beatnik or other experimental literature and more of a novel I would highly endorse for readers who enjoy works, which are highly pungent and affecting.
Rating:
Summary: Classic of the underground
Review: Burroughs' first book is an autobiographical tale of how he first came to try heroin and his travels across North America as, to paraphrase the author, junk became his life. To those who know Burroughs as only the writer of Naked Lunch, the straight-forward and precise prose of Junky may come as a surprise at first but, upon careful reading, all the same concerns and motifs are here. Basically, Junky tells what was happening in the real world while Burroughs was hallucinating the junk-fueled world of Naked Lunch. While it may deceptively appear to have no real structure, its meandering style instead perfectly embodies the drug-fueled lifestyle of its protaganist. Its a fascinating read that reveals that, despite beliefs to the contrary, there has always been a drug underground in the United States where junkies remain easy scapegoats for other societal problems. While Burroughs does't condemn drug use, he can hardly be accused of promoting it either. Instead, in the best libertarian tradition, he promotes only the freedom of the individual to be able to determine his own fate. However, beyond any possible political or philosophical interpretations, this is a fast-moving, informative book with a dry wit hidden amongst the deadpan prose. What is often forgotten is that Burroughs' first known stories were all parodies of other genres and in many ways, Junky is a dead-on imitation of the hardboiled, pulp novels that were also prominent at the time.
Rating:
Summary: Bleak ,exciting ,shoot me up...
Review: "The spike, the hose, the blackened spoon...spread eagled at death..." -Peter Murphy, Bauhaus . If you sometimes hate yourself, if sometimes you wish it would all wash away, if you like to lose yourself in the maelstrom of self desolation, if you believe heaven is a strip club where the DJ spins static-ridden first print Velvet Underground LPs amidst the christmas lights and cockroaches, if the ghosts of dead movie stars whisper to you in the night, if you light your life with blacklight, if thrill comes in illicit packages, if love left long ago, if dreams bring shrieks, if day is a myth, if the mirror cries Auscwitz, if your friends died prostitutes, if you've beaten habit with habit, if the walls breathe, if hell wears a badge, if the dead come back for a piece of your pain...Walk with me.
Rating: 
Summary: his best and first effort
Review: After trying to make sense out of his more surrealistic efforts for years to little avail and no enjoyment, I stumbled across this book and was immediately swept into the narrative of the world of drug addiction in a far deeper manner than his other works. Perhaps I am too literal minded, but I find the other stuff terrible and self consciously obscure. Junky, however, is clear, concise, and with an internal logic all its own. Recommended as a particular tour of hell.
Rating: 
Summary: The Definitive Beat Generation Drug Book
Review: Burroughs' tale of the life of a herion addict. Unlike other stories on this subject; this tale is drawn from the personal experience of the author and gives an interesting perspective. This book is not a glorification of herion use, or much of a condemnation of it either. "Junk is a way of life," says the author, and the narrative seems to prove this rather well. A small book, the one major failing, that it seems to be much longer than it is. With no definite chapters or sections, the book drawls on at some points, only broken up with little markers that appear to be like scene changes in a film script. This marker tell the reader that time has passed, or that the landscape is going to change. This book is fascinating, and does tell an interesting tale, but because it was written a couple of generations ago, it moves a bit too slowly at times and holds very little of the meaning that it would have for the Beat, or even the Hyppie generations. Burroughs' theme and characters are both very interesting, but the prose style drags on. This book should not be read on a rainy day: it may take a bit of time to get through it, but it will bring the reader down.
Rating:
Summary: Ah, if burroughs had done this earlier
Review: Junky, read by WSB himself. Period. The only regret that I have about this tape is that WSB is quite old when he read this. The story itself is intelligent and detailed, but it has a definite feel of a work told/written by a young person who is still active. While WSB's voice remains amazingly consistent over the years, the reading of this tape comes through as apparently older than the man telling the story. I can't quite explain, but te core of the voice seems a bit wobbly than his earlier readings. But it's still great. WSB's monotonous voice really conveys the not-so-pleasant contents very well. And If you want his voice to fill the room for a very long time, well nothing else comes close. ...
Rating:
Summary: There are no words
Review: What could I say? This is just the legend who read his own work. Nobody will ever be able to do that like him, his voice really brings you to the dark atmosphere the books builds up. Seat comfortably, have a drink, lower the light and listen..... This refers to the audiobook edition.
Rating:
Summary: one of the beat classics
Review: this is the first book by burrough's that i've read, and i have to say i wasn't dissapointed. it is an easily accessible book, something i was worried about from all i've heard of burroughs. he doesn't preach, either for or against the junk. i will say that it isn't as gritty as i was expecting, but at times you can see through the almost cheerful voice to the darker side underneath.
Rating:
Summary: A page turner
Review: It is far more straight ahead than Naked Lunch, but with a clarity that has amaizng energy. I have not read everything by Burroughs but what i have read leads me to believe he made his greatest mark in my mind with Junky. Possibly completey autobiographical and therefore less artistic than Naked Lunch, etc. But it's wit, grime, and linear thought transcends.
Rating:
Summary: The sad story of Bill Lee in a more reader-friendly format
Review: Drugs take a cynical drifter through a path of hopelessness, addiction, police interrogations, unsuccessful treatments and the drug subcultures of New York, New Orleans and finally, Mexico City. Junky is a lite version of Borrough's classic, Naked Lunch, a version of Burrough's autobiographical tale that is easier to read without Naked Lunch's fanaticisms, savagery, wry humor and nonlinear story telling. Like Naked Lunch, Junky was first published under the pseudonym of Bill Lee, the name of the main character and the reader discovers little of Lee's personality and being. In fact, a common law wife appears suddenly and quietly during the middle of the Junky's New Orleans portion while countless detailed descriptions of the smallest aspects of drug addiction, withdrawal and culture appear throughout the book and that is the point. Lee's being has become a mere host for his addiction and that's what makes Junky such a harrowing, compelling and heart wrenching novel.
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