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A review by lucius_gooseman
Queer by William S. Burroughs
challenging
emotional
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“Pat's served excellent steaks. Lee liked the place because it was never crowded. At Pat's, he ordered a double dry martini. Allerton had rum and Coke. Lee began talking about telepathy.”
This book is really crushing. In the same vein of A Single Man, Burroughs’s Queer is an aching, longing portrayal of queerness in the wrong time and place. My heart goes out to Lee, who is a repugnant character, but also such a relatable figure. He and I have the same moves, btw (talk constantly) and the quote above just decimated me, I don’t know why. It’s the quiet moments in Queer that make it as enjoyable as it is, a man who’s lost his way looking for love and losing it just as he's lost everything else. Despite Lee's shortcomings, I really related to him and found the book endlessly readable because of it- his fight for love is bogged down by his unlovable tendencies and quirks, the community pushes him down, and he's literally addicted to intravenous drugs.
Queer is sadly, bogged down by several anecdotal monologues pertaining to nothing in particular, feeling more like a stand-up special for William S. Burroughs than a narrative novel. His writing style is particularly abrasive, cutting up the rather romantic and wistful prose with racial slurs and sexual dialogue. I'm not offended by it, but he actually has some nice writing here that's really trampled on. There is also a secondary plot much more akin to Jungle Cruise than anything remotely psychological or romantical, a search for Ayahuasca that takes precedence over everything Burroughs worked toward in terms of romance, longing, and character building. Thankfully, this inspired me to read his other books, soooo it was ultimately successful.
This book is really crushing. In the same vein of A Single Man, Burroughs’s Queer is an aching, longing portrayal of queerness in the wrong time and place. My heart goes out to Lee, who is a repugnant character, but also such a relatable figure. He and I have the same moves, btw (talk constantly) and the quote above just decimated me, I don’t know why. It’s the quiet moments in Queer that make it as enjoyable as it is, a man who’s lost his way looking for love and losing it just as he's lost everything else. Despite Lee's shortcomings, I really related to him and found the book endlessly readable because of it- his fight for love is bogged down by his unlovable tendencies and quirks, the community pushes him down, and he's literally addicted to intravenous drugs.
Queer is sadly, bogged down by several anecdotal monologues pertaining to nothing in particular, feeling more like a stand-up special for William S. Burroughs than a narrative novel. His writing style is particularly abrasive, cutting up the rather romantic and wistful prose with racial slurs and sexual dialogue. I'm not offended by it, but he actually has some nice writing here that's really trampled on. There is also a secondary plot much more akin to Jungle Cruise than anything remotely psychological or romantical, a search for Ayahuasca that takes precedence over everything Burroughs worked toward in terms of romance, longing, and character building. Thankfully, this inspired me to read his other books, soooo it was ultimately successful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship