William S. Burroughs - Junky

Penguin editie, 1995
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William S. Burroughs' Junky is a semi-autobiographical novel that offers a stark, unflinching account of addiction and street-level life in mid-20th century America. Originally published in 1953 under the pseudonym William Lee, it was Burroughs’ debut and stands as one of the earliest literary representations of drug culture from an insider's perspective.

Junky follows the narrator—an alter ego of Burroughs himself—as he drifts through the underworlds of New York, New Orleans, and Mexico City, addicted to heroin and other substances. The prose is spare, direct, and documentary-like, offering a matter-of-fact chronicle of drug use, withdrawal, police surveillance, and hustling. Unlike later Burroughs works, Junky is linear and accessible, grounded in realism rather than experimental form.

While not as stylistically radical as Naked Lunch, Junky is significant for its raw honesty and pioneering role in Beat literature. It captures a hidden America with a voice that is dispassionate yet deeply human.