The Job: Interviews with William S. Burroughs (Paperback)

~ Daniel Odier (Author), William S. Burroughs (Author)
Key Phrases: mutter line, apomorphine treatment, speech scramblers, Naked Lunch, American Narcotics Department, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

In these interviews, Burroughs tells the gripping story of his drug addiction and cure, and voices his often barbed views on youth, sex, drugs, writing, politics, revolution, the family, silence, organ therapy, money, and prayer.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (March 4, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140118829
• ISBN-13: 978-0140118827
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #795,998 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Burroughs proves that paranoia is intelligent, February 25, 1998

By A Customer

I read somewhere that intelligence is the ability to make connections that others don't see. By that definition, and probably by any other, Burroughs is a philosophical and literary genius. Who else could make the connection between Mayan ritual calendars and the totalian nature of modern nation-states? Who else gives detailed explanations of his proven methods for dissembling reality?? For sheer brilliance and brutal truth about modern society, only Foucault approaches Burroughs. But Foucault never went to hell and came back to write about it.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Disquietingly prescient and funny, February 27, 2001

By	Mac Tonnies (Kansas City, MO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

"The Job" is a fantastic introduction to the obsessions and maverick idealism that characterize Burroughs' fiction. This is not a straight question-and-answer session; Burroughs includes liberal samples of text (his own as well as others') to illustrate his ideas. The final product is an effective, surreal manifesto urging all of us to break out of our private tunnel realities and confront social control systems with open, empowered minds. Especially fascinating are Burroughs' thoughts on language and his prescient examination of media-viruses.

"The Job" is often brutal, always controversial, and possessed by the author's inimitable knack for nailing his target. This is an unforgettable plunge into one of the 20th century's foremost countercultural intellects.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Confused about WSB? READ THIS BOOK!!!, December 20, 1997

By	[e-mail] (Evanston, IL) - See all my reviews

An excellent compendium of Bill Burrough's interests and obsessions. Mostly focusing on the totalitarian nature of nation-states, The Job gives you all at once Burroughs being interviewed, Burroughs straight prose and Burroughs gobbledygook. He also explains--clearly--why his books are written the way they are. I don't know if I've ever learned so much--or at the very least had so many of my perceptions radically altered--from such a thin tome. Highly recommended.