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Junky

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About this listen

Burroughs’ first novel, a largely autobiographical account of the constant cycle of drug dependency, cures, and relapses, remains the most unflinching, unsentimental account of addiction ever written. Through time spent kicking and time spent dealing, through junk sickness and a sanatorium, Junky is a field report from the American postwar drug underground. A cult classic, it has influenced generations of writers with its raw, sparse, and unapologetic tone.

©1953 A. A. Wynn Inc (P)2012 W F Howes Ltd Classics Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Fiction
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a partially autobiographical novel written from the perspective of a drug addict, very interesting and tragic in its details.
as mentioned in the introduction, the title was changed a long time ago from the original, "Junk", by one of the editors, i think it would have been nicer to keep what the author wanted and change it back, a very powerful title, "junk" being what the addict character/author himself calls drugs.
good performance.

interesting

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Never read William boroughs,this is the my first time,it's a fantastic book,boroughs goes into a lot details.i would recommend to anyone.

Fantastic book

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Really down to earth and unpretentious portrayal of the life of an addict, with most of what it entails. It neither wallows in the despair and futility of the situation, nor does it romanticise it. It still feels highly relevant today, and as far as Burroughs goes I'm told this is his most accessible work.

Feels very real

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Junkie presents a Frank and fascinating glimpse into the history of opiate addiction in America from the perspective of the street level user. This somewhat oral history of the junkie scene at the time relates the semiotic language and behaviours still present today. In this way, Junkie remains as powerful in the present as it was at first print.

Honest, revealing and in some ways deeply tragic, Junkie is a raw, timeless tale of addiction.

A great introspective glance into the past

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I suggest anybody with a rosy heteronormative view of the past listen to this. Junkies are not a new phenomenon, this testimony of a junky just happens to have been told by one of the greatest writers of the last two centuries. Brilliantly narrated here, with extra historical context in the foreward and appendices.

Timeless depravity

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