Review from a Transgressive Fiction Fan
Junky was somehow my first Burroughs read and I loved it. It’s a personal, detailed account of his time using, selling, and running junk (opiates) through the 40s. History/culture buffs of that era will love this book.
I was astounded by how relevant Burroughs’ observations are now, in 2018. He talks about how addicts are vilified, the corruption of government re: drug policies and enforcement, the needless criminalization of weed… Junky is a must read for anyone who’s interested in the current opiate crisis or likes addiction memoirs.
“Insightful” Review from a Mainstream Reader
An book that glorifies drug usage, presents a representation of the lowest possible level of drug use of pre- and post- World War 2 America.
Our author, a homosexual drug user, nonchalantly explains how his drug usage affected him, and those around him, and how occasionally his poor sense of judgement let him end up in difficult positions.
As our author starts with Alcohol, and weed, and heroin, he manages to inject cocaine, and do “goof balls”, Benzedrine, and other narcotics. He finishes the book up by being on the run from the law, and going to the Amazon River, where he looks to do Yage, a sort of Ayahuasca brew, to experience the chemical that is now known as DMT, as he thinks it will offer him what he couldn’t get off of Heroin and other opiates.