Philosophical Vegan Forum

Has anyone else read Naked Lunch?

I heard about it from Anthony Bourdain (not personally, I watch/listen to his show) and thought it would be an interesting read. I used to do a lot of drugs, the author did a lot of drugs, should be interesting.....

I feel like I need to sanitize my eyeballs after making it halfway through. And I can be into some weird shit, but damn. Not only is it disturbing in so many ways (I could deal with that) but it seems to be a bunch of random words designed to elicit a very vivid imagery, but without any actual meaning in most chapters.

I think of it as the literary equivalent of Andy Warhol's soup cans. Some people reaching really hard "find" meaning in it, but it's really nothing put forth by an otherwise interesting individual. Anyone famous enough could take a dump on stage, and at least a few people would be "amazed at the powerful statement about society they just made!" ......Perhaps they would be right...

PsYcHo wrote: ↑Tue Oct 17, 2017 9:59 pm I think of it as the literary equivalent of Andy Warhol's soup cans. Some people reaching really hard "find" meaning in it, but it's really nothing put forth by an otherwise interesting individual. Anyone famous enough could take a dump on stage, and at least a few people would be "amazed at the powerful statement about society they just made!" ......Perhaps they would be right...

Thanks for reminding me of this, have downloaded the audiobook and e-book, so can give you my take at some point. I stereotypically watched the film at an eco-gathering from a bicycle powered projector and is a really funny memory, I think it's a little more than Andy Warhols mental breakdown after being shot or post modern shit posting to a gallery that accepts any pieces by sending a urinal, maybe most similar to Inherent Vice where it doesn't try to hard to hit you over the head with the meaning but absorb you in the charachters comedy/realist experience of a changing time and culture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BX1iMcssqLA

Inherent Vice does sound interesting.

I must say the first few chapters of Naked Lunch were quite interesting, which is why I continue to slowly read it in between other books. But damn, it really seems like he started with an idea, got super high, then forgot what he was writing about. (or in fact that he was writing at all.)

I have in my years consumed massive amounts of reality bending substances, and once I took some excellent LSD with the intentions of writing down my trip so I would remember it. I ended up with a notebook full of gibberish. This book reminds me of my gibberish filled notebook, but lacks the awesome trip that accompanied it. Maybe if it were in film form, I would enjoy it more.

Let me know if you read it, I'd like to hear someone else's thoughts on it.