A review by tazch1701
Naked Lunch: The Restored Text by William S. Burroughs

Did not finish book. Stopped at 87%.
This book leads me to leave the Beatnik culture was selfish. I know there is debauchery and filth in this world and to pretend it doesn't exist is naive and unhelpful. But, if I'm going to read or learn about the dark underside of society, I want to come away with some sense of having learned how to recognise or help people in those situations or how to avoid those situations or I want have expanded my empathy to a wider group of people. This book did none of that, while I understand that it was pivotal in pushback on literary censorship in the US, I find it insane that this work in particular is the one chosen to immemorial Burroughs. I also find it hard to stomach the fact that Burroughs was a trust fund baby who never had to work a day in his life, had he existed in the modern day I would say he's a spoilt champagne socialist who doesn't participate in any helpful activism and instead is part of the counter culture to fuel his perceived intelligence and as a means to indulge in his own selfish behaviour. If a person of colour had written this book it would not have achieved anywhere near this amount of praise or longevity, but for some reason a white man's drugg addled ramblings are worthy of being immortalised. In my opinion to be part of a true counter culture is to be part of a feasible alternative to the individualistic, capitalistic society of today that encompasses community, equity and kindness (which I think is the biggest thing we lack in the mainstream). 
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