The Diary of a Drug Fiend
It begins where Crowley’s glamorous experiment becomes actual dependence.
Read our take
Junky
Heroin without champagne or mythology: finding it, paying for it, using it, withdrawing, and arranging life around the next dose.
- 1953
About William S. Burroughs
The story, briefly
Spoiler-freeBurroughs presents addiction as routine rather than romance, following the daily mechanics of heroin use, withdrawal, dealing, movement, and survival.
What's inside
An autobiographical narrator moves through American and Mexican drug worlds as heroin turns into the organizing fact of daily life.
Why we recommend it
Addiction after all the glamour is gone
Burroughs reduces heroin use to its routines, expenses, withdrawals, and narrowing demands.
What this book explores
Book editions
- Paperback
- Penguin Classics
- 2009
- 9780141189826
Reader reviews
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Naked Lunch
Burroughs later turns drugs, sex, grotesque comedy, and fragments into nightmare.
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References
References
The sources below include the primary text, editions, scholarship, archival materials, and other records that informed this page. They document Junky, its publication, and its place in literary history.
1Junky
NovelWilliam S. Burroughs, 1953Used forThe primary text represented by this page, used for descriptions of the work’s contents and for any quoted passages shown here.
2Junky
Official recordPenguin Books UKUsed forOfficial record used to verify names, dates, institutional details, or other factual information on this page.
3William Burroughs, Junky and the death of Joan Vollmer
PeriodicalThe GuardianUsed forContemporary reporting or criticism used to document the historical reception and context of Junky.
4William S. Burroughs Papers
ArchiveNew York Public LibraryUsed forArchival evidence used to document the historical record connected to Junky.
5William S. Burroughs personal reading collection
ArchiveKenneth Spencer Research Library, University of KansasUsed forArchival evidence used to document the historical record connected to Junky.
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Why these sources are here
The primary text is the baseline reference for every book page. Additional references document publication history, interpretation, and historical context where that evidence is available.
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