Service95 Recommends is the home of the books we love and reviews from our contributors. Junky by William S Burroughs is a shocking, semi-autobiographical insight to the world of heroine addiction in the ’50s. Now a cult classic, Junky reads like a field report from the underworld of post-war America as the protagonist Bill is caught in a cycle of drug dependancy, rehab, and relapsing.
What Jennifer Clement Says: “Basquiat, Suzanne and I were fascinated by William Burroughs. We always went to his NYC readings. I was interested in him because he killed his wife, Joan, in Mexico City, where I’m from, during a drunken game of William Tell. Suzanne was obsessed with this story and in 1985 painted a large portrait of Joan. I have this portrait in Mexico City. Instead of a highball glass full of gin on Joan’s head, Suzanne painted a big red apple. At least one of Basquiat’s paintings has references to Burroughs and the killing of Joan. He even paints the bullets.”
What They Say: “Burroughs’ voice is hard, derisive, inventive, free, funny, serious, poetic, indelibly American.” – Joan Didion
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