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shawnwhy's review against another edition
4.0
this is like a basquiat novel, created with the background noises in society and the media and jumbled together as a story, very very enjoyable walking through this swamp of words and sentences.
veriditas's review against another edition
2.0
This book is said to be Burroughs at his coruscating and hilarious best, and I have no doubt that is true; I smiled four times, exhaled forcefully through my nose once, and fell asleep twice.
decadent_and_depraved's review against another edition
5.0
There are books one reads and there are books one experiences. I am yet to read one book from Burroughs!
"Operations performed on your person ... brushing teeth, washing, etc. can lead you to correct a defect before it develops. Here is student with a light case of bleeding gums. His dentist has instructed him to massage gums by placing little splinters of wood called Inter Dens between the teeth and massaging gum with seesaw motion. He snatches at Inter Dens, opens his mouth in a stiff grimace and jabs at a gum with a shaking hand. Now he remembers his DE. Start over. Take out the little splinters of wood like small chopsticks joined at the base and separate them gently. Now find where the bleeding is. Relax face and move Inter Dens up and down gently firmly gums relaxed direct your attention to that spot. No not “ getting better and better ” just let the attention of your whole body flow there and all the healing power of your body flow with it. A soapy hand on your lower back feeling the muscles and vertebrae can catch a dislocation right there and save you a visit to the osteopath. Illness and disability is largely a matter of neglect. You ignore something because it is painful and it becomes more uncomfortable through neglect and you neglect it further. Everyday tasks become painful and boring because you think of them as WORK something solid and heavy to be fumbled and stumbled over. Overcome this block and you will find that DE can be applied to anything you do even to the final discipline of doing nothing. The easier you do it the less you have to do. He who has learned to do nothing with his whole mind and body will have everything done for him."
"Operations performed on your person ... brushing teeth, washing, etc. can lead you to correct a defect before it develops. Here is student with a light case of bleeding gums. His dentist has instructed him to massage gums by placing little splinters of wood called Inter Dens between the teeth and massaging gum with seesaw motion. He snatches at Inter Dens, opens his mouth in a stiff grimace and jabs at a gum with a shaking hand. Now he remembers his DE. Start over. Take out the little splinters of wood like small chopsticks joined at the base and separate them gently. Now find where the bleeding is. Relax face and move Inter Dens up and down gently firmly gums relaxed direct your attention to that spot. No not “ getting better and better ” just let the attention of your whole body flow there and all the healing power of your body flow with it. A soapy hand on your lower back feeling the muscles and vertebrae can catch a dislocation right there and save you a visit to the osteopath. Illness and disability is largely a matter of neglect. You ignore something because it is painful and it becomes more uncomfortable through neglect and you neglect it further. Everyday tasks become painful and boring because you think of them as WORK something solid and heavy to be fumbled and stumbled over. Overcome this block and you will find that DE can be applied to anything you do even to the final discipline of doing nothing. The easier you do it the less you have to do. He who has learned to do nothing with his whole mind and body will have everything done for him."
neznez's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.75
gilbertka's review against another edition
4.0
The Exterminator (not to be confused with the short story collection Exterminator!) is an experimental and rather short book created in partnership with Brion Gysin. It is a fairly rare book, which is why many of the reviews here don’t apply to this book, but rather “Exterminator!” (It’s an easy mistake!). There is a lot of nonsensical writing in here, but I enjoyed reading it. There were several moments during my reading where a phrase would stick out to me. It is important to note that the cut up method Burroughs often used is a big aspect of this book, and therefore I wouldn’t recommend this book to someone who doesn’t know Burroughs style, start with something else first! If you know Burroughs you will quickly recognize the style and voice of this work. There is a lot going on here but upon first reading the themes that stuck out to me the most were viruses, drug use/addiction, and sex. If you ever run across this book, check it out, at times it even comes across as a bit prophetic, or too on the nose. Overall, interesting but complex read with lots to unpack.
4/5
4/5
acarine_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
hammarbag's review against another edition
3.0
A couple kicked ass but there was a lot of sensory overload
franchescanado's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting and exhausting. Style over substance, discombobulating and disconcerting. Did you ever meet a drugged out weird but interesting person? They're fun at first, but eventually you just get tired of their weird antics. That's this book.
night_owl's review against another edition
3.0
There is really only one truly brilliant piece, "The Priest They Called Him" but if makes all the rest worth the trouble. All in all it is very disjointed and some of the pieces are just strange and/or intensely graphic in a morbidly comical sort of way
boopity's review against another edition
3.0
While some stories I found brilliant, others didn't work for me. Read on the training short intervals.
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