Authors in the vein of WS Burroughs

I know there's been some negativity on Burroughs around here, and I guess he doesn't have the refined qualities that the snobs around here might prefer, but you gotta hand it to him - he's got an unique style.

I've realized that I have an affinity for disturbed authors with an oddball style, who are slightly out of the mainstream. For example, I loved Nick Cave's first book (and most of his music). Although you could argue that it's slightly gratuitous or mastubatory, it is highly original. And sometimes art can stand very well on originality alone. Anyway, enough waffling, I was wondering if you guys have any tips on writers (poetry, short stories, whatever) who might fulfill my criteria. Like Burroughs, disturbing, highly original and with a weird sense of humour. When I say like Burroughs, I don't mean like the beat authors, because I never thought of Burroughs as part of that group.

I hope you can decipher what I'm asking for!

Cheers guys

i too wonder how many homunculi Burroughs injected into his veins...



try Irvine Welsh

I'm glad you caught my tabloid-like pun, I worried wether it was TOO subtle :hat:

Anyway, I worry that you recommend Welsh just because Trainspotting deals with junk, I don't know, I'm not familiar with his work. I only know of him through the movie. I'm not necessarily looking for authors dealing with the same subject matters as Burroughs.

I think you would like The Atrocity Exhibition or Crash by J G Ballard.

Burroughs was associated with a genre of science fiction called New Wave which you might want to look into. A lot of it is really awful but you could never accuse it of lacking originality. One of my favourite stories is The Heat Death of the Universe by Pamela Zoline which I think can be found online somewhere.

Yes unfortunately Burroughs lacks the refinement and aristocratic values of good moral writers such as De Sade.

I found Junkie a fairy readable realistic novel, but give me Dickens any day. Unlike Burroughs, he is disturbing, highly original and with a weird sense of humour.

Burroughs' wacky stuff I find unreadable - Kafka is much better on insect driven nightmares.

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Originally Posted by arrytus

try Irvine Welsh

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I couldn't get passed the accents

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Originally Posted by mal4mac

I found Junkie a fairy readable realistic novel, but give me Dickens any day. Unlike Burroughs, he is disturbing, highly original and with a weird sense of humour.

Burroughs' wacky stuff I find unreadable - Kafka is much better on insect driven nightmares.

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What are you, a 1900:th-century aristocrat? I mean Dickens is great but I don't think anyone actually living in anything else than the Victorian era would still find him disturbing.

Well obviously Burroughs is not really a match for Kafka, I wouldn't dare compare many authors to the great K. Why you find the need to compare the two I can't understand tough.

Anyway, cheers for Ballard, I didn't know that he and Burroughs actually had somewhat of a history together.

Kafka is a good name to come up. Kafka is about as unique as they come, and that's what the thread's author wants I believe.

I've always been a great champion of Sometimes A Great Notion by Kesey, like Borroughs some associations with the beats but very individual. It's got a very unusual narrative style which makes it difficult at first but it's worth getting used to.