William S. Burroughs in general

William Burroughs was a prominent figure in the Beat scene which evolved in 1950s post-war America. Most famous for his novel 'Naked Lunch', Burroughs also saw himself as something of a cultural commentator and eventually ended up advocating silence as the only way to get out of the hell-hole of existence in the modern world. However, during his life he wrote many books - some of which were good, some of which were paranoid, incomprehensible gibberish. Burroughs stands as somewhat of a cult figure in the latter 20th Century - bands such as Sonic Youth have eulogised him and he even recorded one of his works - 'The Priest They Called Him' - with Kurt ...  Read the complete review