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A review by jnzllwgr
The Ticket That Exploded by William S. Burroughs
5.0
What was your New Year’s Resolution? Mine began at the start of December ’24 when I decided it was time to properly gird oneself for the coming unraveling of society. I began with the first reread in 30 years of Naked Lunch, which I picked at for the bulk of the month. With the opportunity that mild illness offered, I then proceeded to read the “Nova Trilogy” — aka The Cut Up Trilogy, aka Naked Lunch Part Deux — for the first time, in the betweenness of the last week of the year (I also rewatched Interstellar and binged Severance, which, if you are familiar with these books, seems bonkers to throw those into the mix) WSB is unlike Carroll or Joyce who wanted to experiment with the potentialities of language. And unlike Tzara, WSB did not ‘merely’ emphasize the inanity of modern society. Uncle Bill wanted to disrupt the controlling nature of language, wipe the slate clean, kill the meme viruses. Through the editorial intros, these editions trace the incredible intentionality our author possessed when crafting these 4 books despite sneers for being more pornographic than Genet or absurdist than almost anything before it. Their legend and legacy is well entrenched. Another schlub such as myself will not do it justice to attempt a succinct or novel review. These are probably the greatest counter-cultural written works of the last 75 years (fight me in the comments). However, some stream-of-consciousness observations bulleted in the comments below….
:: The word is a virus. “And like all virus the past prerecords your ‘future’”
:: These books are conjurers. Willful manifestations of disruption to the powers of control.
:: WSB’s occult interests are inescapably on one’s mind as you read.
:: Still does not appear outdated. Still feels prescient. Especially with present media landscape that shreds society.
:: Many years ago, someone gave me a CD of WSB reading excerpts from NL. That voice is indelible. I was most successful locking into a groove when my inside voice was Uncle Bill talking over my shoulder, repeating the meter and syntax. When not, I could found myself lost and accepting that I had to let the text wash over me, to absorb by osmosis, to operate at the viral level, you could say.
:: Organic and mechanistic. Darkly comedic.
:: The text rearranges itself. The ability to reread and gain completely different impressions is (wholly intentional and) palpable.
:: Robert Wyatt (Soft Machine), David Bowie (Thin White Duke), Iggy Pop (Lust for Life), Steely Dan, Joy Division (Interzone), among others, leapt from the pages making it patently clear the musicological influences these books have. The life’s work of Genesis Breyer P-Orridge is probably the longest and deepest rabbit hole.
:: Akin to suffering from multiple personality disorder. Or jumping between voices in a crowd. Or a recordation of the inanities of one’s inner dialog. A psychological profile and a test of one’s fortitude.
:: What is a meme? What is addiction? Moments, in the eye of the storm, where WSB seems to attempt laying out methods (see also The Third Mind w/ Brion Gysin) to disrupting control.
:: The word is a virus. “And like all virus the past prerecords your ‘future’”
:: These books are conjurers. Willful manifestations of disruption to the powers of control.
:: WSB’s occult interests are inescapably on one’s mind as you read.
:: Still does not appear outdated. Still feels prescient. Especially with present media landscape that shreds society.
:: Many years ago, someone gave me a CD of WSB reading excerpts from NL. That voice is indelible. I was most successful locking into a groove when my inside voice was Uncle Bill talking over my shoulder, repeating the meter and syntax. When not, I could found myself lost and accepting that I had to let the text wash over me, to absorb by osmosis, to operate at the viral level, you could say.
:: Organic and mechanistic. Darkly comedic.
:: The text rearranges itself. The ability to reread and gain completely different impressions is (wholly intentional and) palpable.
:: Robert Wyatt (Soft Machine), David Bowie (Thin White Duke), Iggy Pop (Lust for Life), Steely Dan, Joy Division (Interzone), among others, leapt from the pages making it patently clear the musicological influences these books have. The life’s work of Genesis Breyer P-Orridge is probably the longest and deepest rabbit hole.
:: Akin to suffering from multiple personality disorder. Or jumping between voices in a crowd. Or a recordation of the inanities of one’s inner dialog. A psychological profile and a test of one’s fortitude.
:: What is a meme? What is addiction? Moments, in the eye of the storm, where WSB seems to attempt laying out methods (see also The Third Mind w/ Brion Gysin) to disrupting control.