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Jayakrishnan's Reviews > Cities of the Red Night
Cities of the Red Night
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Father: What you reading?
Cbj: This book by Burroughs.
Father: Haven't read any Burroughs yet, he looks boring. I hate pretentious twats.
Cbj: I liked Junkie. Now reading one called Cities of the Red Night. Can't seem to get into it. Yes, pretentious is the word. No character development. Characters introduced and then never appear again. About a bunch of pirates and then a murder investigation into some bizarre cult. Burroughs himself is like a cult leader who only wants a certain kind of esoteric follower. I don't want to join his cult.
Father: Fuck it, Bail on it. Nobody is gonna give you a kiss for finishing it. Read stuff that are enjoyable, you're not in school anymore, my man.
Cbj: Hahaha! Yes, fuck it then. I'll read some Richard Stark.
Cbj: This book by Burroughs.
Father: Haven't read any Burroughs yet, he looks boring. I hate pretentious twats.
Cbj: I liked Junkie. Now reading one called Cities of the Red Night. Can't seem to get into it. Yes, pretentious is the word. No character development. Characters introduced and then never appear again. About a bunch of pirates and then a murder investigation into some bizarre cult. Burroughs himself is like a cult leader who only wants a certain kind of esoteric follower. I don't want to join his cult.
Father: Fuck it, Bail on it. Nobody is gonna give you a kiss for finishing it. Read stuff that are enjoyable, you're not in school anymore, my man.
Cbj: Hahaha! Yes, fuck it then. I'll read some Richard Stark.
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Reading Progress
February 5, 2021
–
Started Reading
February 5, 2021
– Shelved
February 16, 2021
–
Finished Reading
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message 1:
by
Lizz
(new)
Feb 16, 2021 07:49AM
Ugh. This doesn’t “read” well. Junkie was fabulous. His other stuff is great as spoken word snippets or other audio formats. I’m actually about to give up on a book I’m reading. I hate doing that though. And Hoffka would say that lol.
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That’s true apparently. But I’m so totally a lady
I knew I could count on you, Freddie.
wow what a hot take. where do you get your ideas man?
Great review! I was looking at books on my shelf that I probably won't read and this is one of them. A couple years ago some people on facebook were raving about it. I tried then to see what they were gushing about it for and couldn't get into it. I made the mistake of saying I didn't really like it to those facebook friends and they unfriended me. Maybe that will be my review. Or maybe I'll just trade it in at the used bookstore instead.
Read this back in college or while skipping courses. Can’t recall a thing about it except for Burroughs’ lovingly overwrought description of a horrific new venereal disease that causes the victims to scratch their genitalia until they die from itching. Or was that in another Burroughs novel?
I don't know that I would consider it pretentious, although its certainly avant-garde
