{"id":7298,"date":"2022-12-02T03:07:19","date_gmt":"2022-12-02T02:07:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/?p=7298"},"modified":"2023-07-04T20:50:39","modified_gmt":"2023-07-04T19:50:39","slug":"book-review-the-wild-boys-william-burroughs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/?p=7298","title":{"rendered":"BOOK REViEW: The Wild Boys, William Burroughs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Just finished reading this. It\u2019s a short and fairly easy read, albeit the prose veers between normal and \u2018cut up\u2019. Luckily there\u2019s enough standard English to make it readable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m fascinated by Burroughs. I think he\u2019s prob\u2019 a bit nuts, and possibly a bit of a huckster\/charlatan. But he has a great command of language, and an amazingly vivid if somewhat twisted imagination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In essence, a great deal of Burroughs writing – at least what I\u2019ve read – is autobiographical. But rather than straightforward documentary narrative, Burroughs serves up a postmodern bouillabaisse of fevered drug-addled eroto-fantasy, interwoven with crumbling memories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Burroughs wandering life as a trust-fund dilettante, globe-trotting in search of, essentially\/frankly, thrills, and being both gay and – by dint of the latter, to some extent – Bohemian, lead him to live in all the places that crop up here: St Louis, Mexico City, London, North Africa, New York, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Burroughs\u2019 unusual outsider life – involving crime, drugs, and a sexuality that meant living not like<\/em> but as<\/em> an outlaw – all conspired to fuel a pretty weird fantasy world. <\/em>And so The Wild Boys<\/em> (and other writings) veers towards being his kind of heir to the Marquis de Sade\u2019s vision of ultimate freedom in a melange of sex and violence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Depending on the reader\u2019s tastes, it can make for quite compelling and entertaining (or off-putting) reading. What it\u2019s real<\/em> merits may be, I\u2019m very uncertain. In some ways I enjoyed this book. In others, I was disappointed.* As with much of Burroughs\u2019 work, it\u2019s like the somewhat choreographed dredgings of a disordered and fairly warped mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In some of his writings all of this is filtered through very standard prose, in others – particularly when he employs his cut up style – it\u2019s practically unreadable. Here it\u2019s a mixture, thankfully erring on the side of comprehensible. But the visions it describes are, well\u2026 read it. See what you think!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The book signs off \u2018William S. Burroughs, London, 1969\u2019. This was an interesting time in his life, about which you can learn more here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pop group Duran Duran\u2019s hit song is named after the novel (more on this below). And I\u2019ve read that cult gay film maker Fred Halsted was in discussions with Burroughs about making a pornographic movie of The Wild Boys<\/em>. But that never came to pass, alas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

* The titular Wild Boys don\u2019t really come to the fore till very near the end of the book. Making many of the \u2018plot\u2019 synopses of this work I\u2019ve seen seem way too glib\/conventional. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notes<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
I made the following notes as I read the book. I forgot to do so for two chapters, so those are in [brackets]!

CHAPTER \/ Remarks \/ score <\/strong>
Tio Mat\u00e9 Smiles<\/em> - Cinematic surrealist Mexico City sleaze\u2026 **1\/2
The Chief Smiles<\/em> - Moroccan death sleaze \u2026 ***
Old Sarge Smiles<\/em> - St Louis nun-sleaze, with a sprinkling of racism\u2026 **1\/2
Bury the Bread<\/em> - Audrey moons, Old Sarge rants; a psychedelic melange\u2026 ***
Penny Arcade Peep Show #1<\/em> - Funfair surreal gay sex dreams ***1\/2
Le Gran Luxe<\/em> - Big swanky party surreal gay sex dreams ***1\/2
[Penny Arcade PS #2<\/em> - I forget!]
[Miracle Rose<\/em> - \u2026 er? Something to do with anii\u2026 & \u2018rectal mucous\u2019!?]
Silver Smile<\/em> - Frankie & Johnny gay sex dreams ****
Frisco Kid<\/em> - Klondike gay sex dream ***1\/2
Penny Arcade PS #3<\/em> - Cinematic cut & paste
Dead Child<\/em> - Golf course gay sex dreams morph into shaman jungle dream ***
Call Me Joe<\/em> - Defection from the straight army to the Wild Boys **1\/2
Mother & I <\/em>- Perverts vs Police State: \u2018Our aim is total chaos\u2019. Wild Boys eroto-horror\u2026 ***
Wild Boys<\/em> - The title finally addressed\u2026 more of the same [gay sex dreams]\u2026 **1\/2
Penny Arcade PS #4 <\/em>- Tree-house-boat gay sex dream ***1\/2
Penny Arcade PS #5<\/em> - Assassin gardener **1\/2
Wild Boys Smile<\/em> - Arrival, more of the same [gay sex dreams]\u2026 The End ***<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
FOOTNOTE:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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