Customer Reviews

Gentleman Junkie: The Life and Legacy of William S. Burroughs

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book is excellent. This book not only provides an insight into the world of W.S. Burroughs, but also brief insight into the lives of such figures as Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac. There are picturs throughout, and numerous quotes from Burroughs to spark the imagination, and promote new mental growth. This biography spans the time from his birth to his death, and to my knowledge is the most accurate and complete biography published so far about this dynamic literary figure. If you wish to learn more about this author, or about the beat world in general, this book will provide a world of answers.

An excellent introduction to the life and work of American artist William Burroughs, it's especially notable for the beautiful design which incorporates snapshots, artifacts such as hat-cleaning receipts and Army reports, and washes of Burroughs' shotgun paintings which background each textured-paper page. This substantial hardback is reminiscent of Burroughs' own scrapbooks and penchant for the pastiche, its look and feel mimicking the experiments in randomness-- cut-ups and ballistics-- which (in)formed so much of his work. It is foremost a visual, tactile, and olfactory (new it smells like crayons) treat. The New York Times called this "an empty book," which is reason enough to love it. It's a pop biography, a primer on the grand-daddy of the beats. It's not deep, but as eye candy it's neat.

On Aug. 3 , 1997, author William S. Burroughs died of a heart attack. He left behind two legacies ; his writing and the events of his life. Graham Caveney takes on the task of unfolding both and weaving them into a book that flows easily and is full of color and image .It feel almost like an art book .Images and text swirl together almost moving off the page. For most Americans Burroughs is known but hardly read. Noterised by his drug intake ,not his literary output. Caveney is careful to document the different avenues of change this man persued. Coming at a time when alot of his spoken works are being re-examined and released ,this document is sure to shed more than a little light on a man who truely was a great word smith ( or destroyer there of).

Caveney's Gentleman Junkie, published in the United Kingdom under the title The Priest They Called Him, is the MTV Video of the Burroughs biographies.

The layout of the book is visually stunning, often placing images of Burroughs' paintings, Burroughs himself, Burroughs' friends, or collages of his work underneath, behind, along with, or beside the text. If you've read the Barry Miles biography of Burroughs, or Literary Outlaw by Ted Morgan, there is nothing here in the pre-1980 material that you haven't read already.

The chief virtue of Gentleman Junkie is the remarkable layout, which makes the book an artwork unto itself. The secondary virtue lies in the fact that it was published in 1998, many years after the Morgan and Miles biographies, and thus includes some info on an era those works missed. A list of Burroughs' works is appended, as is a skeletal index.

While this book is interesting to look at, I would recommend Ted Morgan's book LITERARY OUTLAW as a better biography of Burroughs.

ken32

The only reason I read this book was because it was in Amazon's under $5 bargain bin. The fact that it is on sale should have been a red flag that it is not that good...

However, this book makes a very nice coaster. It prevents my beautiful furniture from getting water stains from the beverages I set on it. This book is less then $5...

Would it really hurt you that much to buy it??

This book is shallow and pretentious, the literary equivalent of a wine-and-cheese eater at a Soho gallery who cares more about being seen with the art crowd than exploring art. Caveney is the wine sipper, Burroughs the unfortunate artwork buried beneath Caveney's oh-so avant garde style. Rather than providing insight or information about his fascinating subject, Caveney pastes together a collage of hackneyed Burroughs images, and a few airy snippets of idolatrous prose. I got more pleasure from imagining how exciting a decent biography of Burroughs would be, than from reading this awful book.

If you are a William Burroughs junkie like I am, this is a great book to check out. I use the word junkie because I cannot get enough of anything William Burroughs related in print form. If you want too know a lot about Burrough's backround, his family tree and some of his private life, this is the book to find that. The writer Graham Caveney gives us a look at Burroughs that is hard to find in buying just one book about him. You would find dribbles and drabs in other writings but Caveney captured it all in one package. The book is also very artsy with tons of photographs that makes it look like a cartoon scrapbook for adults. If I was asked "which Burroughs book do you think I should get for a first read?" I would suggest to pick up "Gentleman Junkie". It is a book of Burroughs knowledge for a fantastic price. Grab this one while you still can.

Take a Warhol-esque magical mystery tour through the life of artist, beat poet, and world class junkie William Burroughs. This atypical biography full of psychedelic images and off-the-wall art perfectly captures the life of America's ultimate hep-cat. Not for those in search of a conventional life story--but why would such squares want to read about Burroughs, anyway?

If you dig those who walk on the wild side this book will take you for a fabulous ride. More than worth the price of admission for the twisted folks among us who are proud of the fact they refuse to "just say no".