The current generation is young and unfamiliar. Some members of society with a blue eye believe that Beethoven is a big shaggy dog, and Mozart wrote ringtones for outdated mobile phones. They are unlikely to remember who William Burroughs is. But since the middle of the twentieth century, young people have been enthusiastically reading his novels. What is "Junky"? This is a sensational work of Burroughs. And it is still considered one of the most read books by this writer in America.
Name history
What is junk? The lyrical hero of the novel about the heroine claims to have known all aspects of the "arrival". And that the opiate is not a way to get pleasure, like alcohol, for example, or marijuana. It's a way of being!
Accordingly, the etymology is simple: "junk" is an opiate drug, heroin (or morphine). And the meaning of the word "junky" is those who use it, that is, heroin addicts. But it's not as easy as it seemsfirst look!
History of Creation
What is "Junky" as a literary work? It is known that it was created and released with the direct participation of the “father” of the beatniks Ginsberg (William characterized his contribution as a kind of “secret agent from literature”). The beatnik gave the main idea for the plot of the novel, in the process of writing he was also in the editorial incarnation.
So what is "Junky"? A novel about the life of a drug addict in a reportage style that is rather dry and abrupt.
The publisher of the book "found" in a mental hospital in New Jersey. Ginsberg was treated here after his ignominious departure from Columbia State University. Here, the “chief beatnik” also met K. Solomon, who was also the nephew of the owner of a small publishing house. And on the recommendations of the aforementioned nephew, he agreed to publish the book, by that time thoroughly revised by Burroughs (taking into account Ginsberg's comments).
Ace Books in the 50s was not known for being very authoritative: at that time it published comics and one-day detectives. It is also known that the novel was issued according to the principle of "2 in 1", that is, together with the work of another writer. And instead of his initials, Burroughs used the pseudonym "William Lee".
Later, in the 60s and 70s of the last century, when William Burroughs became already a well-known author, reprints were repeatedly printed. And in 1977, an edited version of the work was published by Penguin Books (foreword by A. Ginsberg).
A few words about the meaning of life
What did "Junky" mean to the youth of that time? The novel gave a complete immersion in the topic of drug addiction, with a detailed description of the "arrivals" and the technology for producing injections. For some, it has become a kind of reference book, for others - a textbook on finding meaning, for others - a stop sign and an antidote to opiate poison. This creation dots all the "i": it shows the "kitchen", life, the language of drug addicts of the 50s, which in many respects have remained similar today. It gives reason to think carefully before making a choice of pleasures.
By the way, junk slang has barely changed since opiates were no longer used as a cough and diarrhea remedy. And Burroughs himself is the generally recognized creator of a literary masterpiece written in the post-war period (1951-1953). This novel undermined from within the rotten building of official culture in the era of the struggle against youth drug addiction, which continues today. The text uses a large number of slang expressions, and the work itself, according to modern statistics, is still the most widely read work by Burroughs.
