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Junky

By: William S. Burroughs
Narrated by: Andrew Garman, Mark Nelson, T. Ryder Smith
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Summary

Burroughs’ first novel, a largely autobiographical account of the constant cycle of drug dependency, cures, and relapses, remains the most unflinching, unsentimental account of addiction ever written. Through time spent kicking and time spent dealing, through junk sickness and a sanatorium, Junky is a field report from the American postwar drug underground. A cult classic, it has influenced generations of writers with its raw, sparse, and unapologetic tone.

©1953 A. A. Wynn Inc (P)2012 W F Howes Ltd
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What listeners say about Junky

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Fantastic book

Never read William boroughs,this is the my first time,it's a fantastic book,boroughs goes into a lot details.i would recommend to anyone.

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Timeless depravity

I suggest anybody with a rosy heteronormative view of the past listen to this. Junkies are not a new phenomenon, this testimony of a junky just happens to have been told by one of the greatest writers of the last two centuries. Brilliantly narrated here, with extra historical context in the foreward and appendices.

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Feels very real

Really down to earth and unpretentious portrayal of the life of an addict, with most of what it entails. It neither wallows in the despair and futility of the situation, nor does it romanticise it. It still feels highly relevant today, and as far as Burroughs goes I'm told this is his most accessible work.

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The best of the beat generation.

Very snappy pace and absorbing. Although a depressing subject it was never hard to read.
The narration was perfectly suited.

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A great introspective glance into the past

Junkie presents a Frank and fascinating glimpse into the history of opiate addiction in America from the perspective of the street level user. This somewhat oral history of the junkie scene at the time relates the semiotic language and behaviours still present today. In this way, Junkie remains as powerful in the present as it was at first print.

Honest, revealing and in some ways deeply tragic, Junkie is a raw, timeless tale of addiction.

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