More than sixty years ago, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac sat down inNew York City to write a novel about the summer of 1944, when one of their friends killed another in a moment of brutal and tragic bloodshed. The two authors were then at the dawn of their careers, having yet to write anything of note. Alternating chapters and narrators, Burroughs and Kerouac pieced together a hard-boiled tale of bohemian New York during World War II, full of drugs and obsession, art and violence. The manuscript, called And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks after a line from a news story about a fire at a circus, was submitted to publishers but rejected and confined to a filing cabinet for decades. This legendary collaboration between two of the twentieth centuries most influential writers is set to be published for the first time in the fall of 2008. A remarkable, fascinating piece of American literary history, And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks is also an engrossing, atmospheric novel that brings to life a shocking murder at the dawn of the Beat Generation.
And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Booklist
Lucien Carr, college roommate of Allen Ginsberg and friend of both William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, killed David Kammerer in 1944. Ginsberg began and then abandoned a novel based on the incident; Burroughs and Kerouac collaborated and completed this one, which has remained unpublished until now. Writing alternating chapters from alternating points of view, the eventual Beat icons adopted a hard-boiled voice without adopting the conventions of a crime novel. Where most crime novels start with a murder, Hippos leads up to it, and the only tension is generated by the reader’s knowledge of what happened in real life. But if it isn’t successful as a crime novel, it’s fascinating for the glimpses it provides into the authors’ lifestyles (the aimless partying is more On the Road than The Big Sleep) and its indications of the writing styles they would later develop. Interestingly, while references to Rimbaud suggest a parallel to the poet’s volatile love affair with Verlaine, the portrayal of Carr, aka “Phillip Tourian,” is not romanticized—in fact, he would have been a great character for Hammett, Cain, or Chandler to work with. --Keir Graff
Review
“A combination hard-boiled murder mystery and existentialist lament– think Dashiell Hammett meets Albert Camus…an essential document of the Beat Generation.” –Gerald Nicosia, San Francisco Chronicle
“[A] persuasive portrait of la vie boheme in all its aimlessness and squalor.” –Amanda Heller, The Boston Globe
“A literary curiosity, a genuine collectible.” –Carolyn See, The Washington Post
“Reveals two giants-to-be in the development stages of their craft…With its evocative rendition of now-vanished saloons, bygone diners, and other landmarks of yesteryear, Burroughs and Kerouac may have inadvertently done for 1944 Greenwich Village what Joyce did for 1904 Dublin.” –George Kimball, The Phoenix (Boston)
"The appearance in print of And the Hippos Were Boiled In Their Tanks by William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac is a literary event, not only because it drew two of the three leading Beat writers into confederacy, but because the book told a story – of male friendship, gay obsession, and murder – that came to fascinate a score of American authors… It’s a fascinating snapshot from a lost era. If you’re looking for the link between Hemingway’s impotent post-war drifters in The Sun Also Rises, the barflies and Tralalas of Last Exit to Brooklyn and the zonked-out kids of Bret Easton Ellis’s Less Than Zero, look no further.” —John Walsh, The Independent
“In alternating chapters, Burroughs and Kerouac serve up a noir vision of Manhattan… Of the two, Kerouac, then in his early 20s, is the more developed writer, though Burroughs, an absolute beginner, already shows some of the interests and obsessions that will turn up in Naked Lunch and elsewhere, to say nothing of an obviously field-tested understanding of how syringes work… For his part, Kerouac recounts wartime experiences in the Merchant Marine, along with notes on the bar scene that would do Bukowski proud.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“[Hippos] significantly predates Kerouac’s major novels and illuminates his dynamic and productive literary friendship with William S. Burroughs. … it is very charming. … The conceit of switching back and forth between narrators every chapter also keeps things speeding along—it creates the illusion that one is listening to a radio broadcast from one station, only to have the frequency changed every few minutes, with the narrative sometimes overlapping and the two voices bleeding into another.”
—Andrew Martin, Open Letters Monthly
“Illuminates the links between Sam Spade and Sal Paradise, noir nihilism and Beat exuberance.” —Timothy Hodler, Details
“If you care about either of these beat masters … I don’t see how you can fail to enjoy [And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks]. Slight as it may seem at first glance, it’s an invaluable document of literary history, glimmering with nascent genius.”
—Craig Seligman, Bloomberg News
“Naughtily sexual and emotionally grimy, written is a prose style that is deadpan-dry and larded with hardboiled atmosphere. This oddly titled novel is an engaging literary and historical curio.” —Richard Labone, Between the Lines
“Spellbinding. …with spot-on dialogue and descriptions of seedy bars and jam-packed apartments, the authors serve up a fascinating look at a time of late night parties, casual sex and a devil-may-care approach to life.” —Jackie Crosby, Minneapolis Star-Tribune
“An eccentric, engaging, and readable novel… What makes the novel particularly fascinating, however, is its ability to provide a window into the early autobiographical styles of both Burroughs and Kerouac as emerging, unpublished writers.”
—Marcus Niski, The Sydney Morning Herald
“As an insight into the formative years of the Beats, it’s fascinating.”
—Nick Rennison, The Sunday Times (London)
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 32 people found the following review helpful
By Bardwire777
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
First off, the release of this book is nothing short of a literary event: two literary icons known for their convention breaking novels collaborating in fiction and basing their book on a real life murder that happened within their circle of friends. "...HIPPOS..." is not as amazing as Kerouac publicly recalled it being, nor is it really the "minor work" that Burroughs dismissed it as. 64 years after it was written, this book takes on a new importance outside of it's literary merits. The work is instantly fascinating to me (as I think it will be to any fans of these writers) because it is an important early step in these artist's development. We can really get a sense of the early Beats relationships in the book, their wild energy and their literary fascinations.
Kerouac and Burroughs wrote this book from two points of view. The Kerouac is the character Mike Ryko and Burroughs character is Will Dennison. For those of you aquainted with the circle of the Beats, Lucien Carr is the character Philip Tourian, David Kammerer is Al Ramsay, Edie Parker is Janie and Celine Young is Barbara....and so on.
A note to the Kerouac fans....This was written before TOWN & THE CITY and has neither TCs sweeping Wolfean images or ON THE ROAD's spontanious bop prose. One can barely detect Jack's love for words in this book. His writing at times is a little whispy (which hints at his Wolfean tastes) but Jack never dives into the full breadth of nostalgia of which all Kerouac fans know he's capable. His writing is more clipped and economic. In fact one can imagine William Burroughs looking over Jack's pages and telling him, "Less literary, deary" In a rare moment of abandon, Jack does let his character Mike Ryko recount (at length) his wild experiences at sea but that monologue goes on a bit too long and disrupts the clipped flow of what is essentially a dime store crime novel.
Bill's pages resemble his later though commonly dubbed "first book", JUNKY - a novel which I very much enjoyed for the same reason as I enjoyed this. It's early Burroughs, who writes his prose like an anthropologist or a police officer writes on his notepad, "Just the facts"
****But one should keep in mind when reading this book that THESE ARE NOT THE FACTS about what happened with the Carr/Kammerer murder case. Jack and Bill are intentionally creating fictionalized account. Their creative embellishments sometimes reveal their personal interests or preoccupations so it becomes hard to decipher what in the book is fact and what is fiction - much like most of Jack's novels.
Critical Readers Be Warned: I think the reader should curve their expectations accordingly, with respect to the writers youth and inexperience. Though indeed an interesting work, "...Hippos.." is not in the vein of their groundbreaking work. it's a good and quick read, though the book ends abruptly. It seems that Kerouac and Burroughs either lost interest in writing it or were discouraged by Lucien's wishes for them not to continue the book. It was due to Lucien's influence that the book has remained so long out of the public's hands for 60 years. It was only published after Lucien passed in 2005 - RIP.
If it's facts about the real events you want I'd suggest reading one of the many Kerouac or Burroughs biographies available - though many have contradicting information. It should be mentioned that James Grauerholtz's Afterward for the book will be quite helpful for those unaware of the true facts of the case. And we should all give a big thank you to Mr. Grauerholtz, executive of the Burroughs estate for publishing this book at long last. It really is a gift.
Kerouac and Burroughs wrote this book from two points of view. The Kerouac is the character Mike Ryko and Burroughs character is Will Dennison. For those of you aquainted with the circle of the Beats, Lucien Carr is the character Philip Tourian, David Kammerer is Al Ramsay, Edie Parker is Janie and Celine Young is Barbara....and so on.
A note to the Kerouac fans....This was written before TOWN & THE CITY and has neither TCs sweeping Wolfean images or ON THE ROAD's spontanious bop prose. One can barely detect Jack's love for words in this book. His writing at times is a little whispy (which hints at his Wolfean tastes) but Jack never dives into the full breadth of nostalgia of which all Kerouac fans know he's capable. His writing is more clipped and economic. In fact one can imagine William Burroughs looking over Jack's pages and telling him, "Less literary, deary" In a rare moment of abandon, Jack does let his character Mike Ryko recount (at length) his wild experiences at sea but that monologue goes on a bit too long and disrupts the clipped flow of what is essentially a dime store crime novel.
Bill's pages resemble his later though commonly dubbed "first book", JUNKY - a novel which I very much enjoyed for the same reason as I enjoyed this. It's early Burroughs, who writes his prose like an anthropologist or a police officer writes on his notepad, "Just the facts"
****But one should keep in mind when reading this book that THESE ARE NOT THE FACTS about what happened with the Carr/Kammerer murder case. Jack and Bill are intentionally creating fictionalized account. Their creative embellishments sometimes reveal their personal interests or preoccupations so it becomes hard to decipher what in the book is fact and what is fiction - much like most of Jack's novels.
Critical Readers Be Warned: I think the reader should curve their expectations accordingly, with respect to the writers youth and inexperience. Though indeed an interesting work, "...Hippos.." is not in the vein of their groundbreaking work. it's a good and quick read, though the book ends abruptly. It seems that Kerouac and Burroughs either lost interest in writing it or were discouraged by Lucien's wishes for them not to continue the book. It was due to Lucien's influence that the book has remained so long out of the public's hands for 60 years. It was only published after Lucien passed in 2005 - RIP.
If it's facts about the real events you want I'd suggest reading one of the many Kerouac or Burroughs biographies available - though many have contradicting information. It should be mentioned that James Grauerholtz's Afterward for the book will be quite helpful for those unaware of the true facts of the case. And we should all give a big thank you to Mr. Grauerholtz, executive of the Burroughs estate for publishing this book at long last. It really is a gift.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
"And The Hippos Were Boiled In Their Tanks," by Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs, with forward by James Grauerholz (220 pgs., 1945, 2008). This is the first novel written by members of what became known as the Beat Generation. It was written by Kerouac & Burroughs near the end of World War Two & was never published. They each wrote alternating chapters.
The novel is closely based on the murder of one of their circle of friends by another of their circle of friends. In real life, Lucien Carr IV, then 19, stabbed to death David Eames Kammerer.
David & Lucien met in St. Louis, MO when David was 25 & Lucien was 11. A strange mentorship grew between them. David & Burroughs were friends since they were just 9 & had met in elementary school in St. Louis. Kerouac met them when he was a freshman at Columbia University in NYC. This book is about the normal day-to-day meanderings of a group of young men & young women seemingly just hanging out.
Kerouac keeps waiting to ship out on the merchant marine vessel, but never does. Burroughs is the only one with a job. Women are always around. They are all jumping in & out of bed. Yet, in a seemingly chaste sort of way. Kerouac's first wife, Edie Parker is here. All the names have been changed.
There is always tension whenever Lucien & David meet. Lucien wants David out of his life. They still always get together. David loves Lucien in a purely chaste way. Bisexuality is always present in this book. In this novel, Lucien kills David with a hatchet in a drunken stupor. In real life, Lucien stabbed David to death with a knife. Lucien was sent away for a couple of years. Later, he became Louis Carr, the top writer& editor for UPI. This novel was never published. First, because it was rejected by everyone who looked at it & later when the writers became famous, Carr persuaded them not to publish the book for fear of opening old wounds. Both authors promised not to publish the novel until after Carr's death. It's a good first read & a good foreshadowing of where both writers would be headed in their careers.
The novel is closely based on the murder of one of their circle of friends by another of their circle of friends. In real life, Lucien Carr IV, then 19, stabbed to death David Eames Kammerer.
David & Lucien met in St. Louis, MO when David was 25 & Lucien was 11. A strange mentorship grew between them. David & Burroughs were friends since they were just 9 & had met in elementary school in St. Louis. Kerouac met them when he was a freshman at Columbia University in NYC. This book is about the normal day-to-day meanderings of a group of young men & young women seemingly just hanging out.
Kerouac keeps waiting to ship out on the merchant marine vessel, but never does. Burroughs is the only one with a job. Women are always around. They are all jumping in & out of bed. Yet, in a seemingly chaste sort of way. Kerouac's first wife, Edie Parker is here. All the names have been changed.
There is always tension whenever Lucien & David meet. Lucien wants David out of his life. They still always get together. David loves Lucien in a purely chaste way. Bisexuality is always present in this book. In this novel, Lucien kills David with a hatchet in a drunken stupor. In real life, Lucien stabbed David to death with a knife. Lucien was sent away for a couple of years. Later, he became Louis Carr, the top writer& editor for UPI. This novel was never published. First, because it was rejected by everyone who looked at it & later when the writers became famous, Carr persuaded them not to publish the book for fear of opening old wounds. Both authors promised not to publish the novel until after Carr's death. It's a good first read & a good foreshadowing of where both writers would be headed in their careers.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This was great. I completely expected this to be something that was only published because there is a market for these two authors; but it turned out to be a very interesting read.
The half of the book written by Burroughs has a hard boiled detective tone to it - although it does not feature any sort of detection. This doesn't really suggest any of the style found in *Naked Lunch* or other later works - it reads like a "prequel" to *Junkie.*
The Kerouac half was the best part - it is almost like the missing early chapters to *On The Road.*
What is especially interesting is the depiction of that place and time - the way people said things, the way they dressed, etc. One guy is described as looking like a bum because of his shabby suit and tie! (These days nobody wears a suit and tie unless they are a lawyer or have a court or prom date.) Also I imagine a novel about homosexuals or drug users would be fairly shocking back in 1945 - now it could be found in a family sitcom.
A long afterword explains some facts about the infamous Lucien Carr murder (which I was totally unfamiliar with) upon which some of the book is based, as well as adding some beat history and the story of how the book came to be published sixty years after it was written - filler, more or less.
Highly recommended.
The half of the book written by Burroughs has a hard boiled detective tone to it - although it does not feature any sort of detection. This doesn't really suggest any of the style found in *Naked Lunch* or other later works - it reads like a "prequel" to *Junkie.*
The Kerouac half was the best part - it is almost like the missing early chapters to *On The Road.*
What is especially interesting is the depiction of that place and time - the way people said things, the way they dressed, etc. One guy is described as looking like a bum because of his shabby suit and tie! (These days nobody wears a suit and tie unless they are a lawyer or have a court or prom date.) Also I imagine a novel about homosexuals or drug users would be fairly shocking back in 1945 - now it could be found in a family sitcom.
A long afterword explains some facts about the infamous Lucien Carr murder (which I was totally unfamiliar with) upon which some of the book is based, as well as adding some beat history and the story of how the book came to be published sixty years after it was written - filler, more or less.
Highly recommended.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting.
As a historical artifact, this book was an interesting addition to the life o the Beats. As a novel, it ranks as about as well executed as most of the self-published crap that's... Read more
Published 2 months ago by James Robert Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars
Late-Night Dream
And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks is a gem. I don't know how I would have reacted to it if I had first read it on the page. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Marcel Louis
5.0 out of 5 stars
Boiled Hippos
Definitely a must read for those interested in the Beat generation, especially fans of Burroughs and Kerouac. Who would have guessed that they were friends as far back as 1944. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Dave Clem
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Beat Novel that Kickstarted It All
Burroughs AND Keroauc writing a book together? What more could you want?
This book is BRILLIANT! Absolutely loved it. Read more
This book is BRILLIANT! Absolutely loved it. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Mr. Matthew Mclaughlin
5.0 out of 5 stars
And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks
Archetypal beat review of the seminal beat episode igniting the beat sensibility in Columbia's backyard; totally so beat. Take a breath, wipe your brow. Pour yourself a drink. Read more
Published 12 months ago by hugh m. burke
3.0 out of 5 stars
Early Kerouac and Burroughs
_And the Hippos were Boiled in Their Tanks_ was co-written by Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs many years before they wrote _On the Road snd _Naked Lunch_. Read more
Published 20 months ago by IRA Ross
2.0 out of 5 stars
Boring
"Hippos.." is really for the hard core beat / Kerouac / Burroughs junkie. It's sort of an existentialist day in the beat life in 1940's NYC. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Daniel Holland
4.0 out of 5 stars
Legendary, but probably not terribly significant
It hasn't been available officially for more than sixty years. Burroughs and Kerouac. And the story revolves around sordid details of a murder committed by a friend of theirs. Read more
Published on July 17, 2010 by Michael A. Duvernois
4.0 out of 5 stars
Hippos
Have read some Jack Kerouac, found this to be quite entertaining, and an easy read.
Published on April 30, 2010 by R. Schloesser
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Must Read
A very interesting and rarely used approach to the novel. Reading the work of two enormously famous writers from the days before they had even published a poem is a unique... Read more
Published on April 7, 2010 by Stephen Krauska
