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smalls411's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, and Medical trauma
ed_moore's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
0.5
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Sexual harassment
joshgroven's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Medical trauma, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
crufts's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
After hearing the title mentioned several times over the years, I became curious about Naked Lunch and decided to read it.
In poetic, lyrical, psychedelic language, the author paints a picture of an America addled by junk - that is, opioid drugs in all their forms. Plagued by addicts of every substance under the sun, the society he depicts is in a state of complete moral and physical degradation.
Other words I would use to describe this book: deranged, delirious, fevered, stream of consciousness, extremely offensive, nonsensical, bizarre, and over the top. Don't go into this book expecting a plot, consistent characters, or any shred of common sense. It's not a story at all, it's more like a really long slam poem.
Overall, I found the book more historically interesting than anything else - i.e., what on earth did Burroughs write that caused such a stir at the time? It was interesting to see the author railing against capital punishment, and also how he considered addicts to be sick people suffering an illness rather than being morally bankrupt (which was the dominant opinion at the time).
I am unable to choose a star rating due to how obscenely obscene the book is. However, you may find it interesting to check the book if you're hunting for inspiration to write an insane or delirious character.
Graphic: Addiction, Biphobia, Body horror, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Lesbophobia, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Self harm, and Vomit
Minor: Transphobia
Please seriously consider the content warnings in this and other reviews. The author wrote the book intending to bring light to the "naked" reality of drug addiction and moral decay that he observed and experienced.However, I will note that there are hardly any named or recurring characters, and there's a certain fever-dream-like quality to the writing style. As a result, many of these scenes come off as more bizarre than distressing.
Again, please be warned, the book basically consists of one gross and deranged scene after another.
jblago's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Alcohol, and Classism
Moderate: Animal death, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Vomit, Trafficking, Abortion, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Abandonment
Minor: Homophobia, Pedophilia, Islamophobia, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
The satirical nature of the book makes it HEAVY with content warnings, but within context everything has its purpose. Each word serves its raison d’etre perfectly, in spite of its outward appearance.moranguinhos's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, and Murder
gleerest's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Racial slurs, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Racial slurs, and Violence
lain_darko's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Excrement, Vomit, Antisemitism, Medical content, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
emcee_othello's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Burroughs insisted that drug addiction was a disease—a “junk virus” that threatened humanity as much as any other deadly ailment. But he also recognized that heroin abuse could only be promulgated in a capitalist system. Drugs are the perfect commodity. They sate a primal appetite for pleasure, turn ordinary people into lifelong customers, and most importantly transform a curious mind into one wholly dependent on product. Addicts move at the whims of pushers—desperate to feed a fix, made to wait for hours or days, and always in the losing position in a bargain. It could be an allegory for consumerism if opioid abuse wasn’t still an epidemic today.
If Naked Lunch is about anything, it’s about the miserable life of an addict. The paranoia, the sickness, the lethargy of being hooked on heroin. But it’s also about the world that addiction creates—the “perfect capitalism” of the drug market. Naked Lunch is as much about sickness as it is about how drug pushers both illegal and corporate exploit and experiment on people. Burroughs insinuates that the pusher, the pharmacist, the CIA are all just as addicted to power and control as their customers are to their product. See the junkies go ape as they tear each other apart and hang themselves for sex. See the scientist observing from a window, hands soaked in blood, shaking his head in disappointment. See it here, then look around you; you might be eating at the same lunch, too.
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Violence, Excrement, and Medical trauma
It’s some crazy stuff! Very obscene.alicejwhite17's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, and Alcohol