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With William Burroughs: A Report From the Bunker

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In the second half of the 1970s, William Burroughs lived in a converted gymnasium in New York City. Dubbed 'the Bunker' (because it had no windows), he lived comfortably, working on Cities of the Red Night with his assistant, James. Victor Bockris was one of many people in Burroughs' social circle at the time, and he decided to document the Bunker years with this book of interviews.

The results are interesting only if you are a Burroughs fan. This is a portrait of a genius surrounded by his not-so-smart celebrity friends. Burroughs spends his time politely tolerating the presence of these people. His friends don't really get it, however --- they think "Bill" is here to have a big party, and they go on and on about their lives, asking him inane questions, while he waits for his chance to say something intelligent. He always comes across as thoughtful, someone who knows more than anyone else in the room. That's the best part of the book, when Burroughs gets an extended monologue on any subject.

But those monologues are too rare to justify reading this book. The interviews just don't dig very deep. You'll learn a lot more about Burroughs' cooking habits and his hobby of collecting canes (for self-defense against muggers) than you do about his ideas. If you've read everything else by --- and about --- Burroughs, you might enjoy this. But you would do better reading Naked Lunch, The Soft Machine, and Ted Morgan's biography..

I picked this book up after reading a few other biograpies by Bockris, and, although I can say that I am bored by Burroughs the writer, I am facinated by Burroughs the man. Always interesting and funny, you don't have to be a fan of William Burroughs' writing to be intrigued by his personality and intelligence.

The usual cold-fish attitude so closely associated with Burroughs is bowled over by a brilliant, funny-funny man who, through some divine intervention is seemingly unaffected by his "habits". This book is far better than a biography written by some wanna-be author who ran out the day before the interview and bought Naked Lunch. Observe the happenings and processes Burroughs goes through during his creative process and revel in the true glory of Bill Burroughs