Book Review: Queer, by William S. Burroughs

It was Paul Maher’s Kerouac biography – or the Ann Charter one – or maybe even Kerouac’s On The Road that first introduced me to William S. Burroughs. Burroughs was one of the key figures of the Beat Generation which Kerouac served (quite reluctantly) as chairman of the board. Like Ginserg, Kerouac, Huncke, and a few others, Burroughs lived, saw, conquered, observed and wrote. His Queer novel was so unprecedented and scandalous at the time it was written (1951-53), that he could not find anyone willing to publish it.  Finally, in 1985 Viking Press released Queer to rave reactions and respectable reviews.   

Burroughs book is supposed to be one of the major pioneering works of the gay underground experience. Queer is essentially a fictive account of a young traveller’s obsession with another man, the love affair that ensues, and the painstaking lengths to which he suffers to keep his lover within arms reach. The book takes place in Mexico, and Burroughs does a masterful job of situating his tale in its proper historical context, pulling us into the fold of each illuminated moment, making us voyeurs of a queer experience.  Burroughs grasp of time and memory of place is excellent, and his writing is decent.   

Yet, the book doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. The motive and intent of book is not precluded by anything more serious than Lee’s obsession with Allerton, and their drug addicted meanderings. Even their love affair only seems to yield more pain and suffering for Lee, but this is never really the point of deeper examination for (Burroughs or) Lee –  whose only real concern is a dubious hiking trip in search of Yage, a drug Lee hopes will give him telepathic powers. In the backdrop of it all, the book floats in and out of cheap gay episodes and flimsy sex scenarios, from one Mexican cantina to another, from one voyeuristic clip (“I saw some beautiful boys on the waterfront”) and back to the humiliating affair with Allerton.   

Perhaps my expectation of Queer was really predicated on the works of Kerouac, who is certainly the greatest asset to the  Beat Generation. Burroughs is certainly a brilliant man, and lead a life that many of us would even envy. But that doesn’t mean he has to be a great writer, or even a Beat writer. Maybe he was just a smart, intelligent, articulate guy with great stories to tell….an associate of the BG, as opposed to an actual contributing author to one of the greatest literary eras of the 20^th century. I don’ t know.  But, for anyone interested in Burroughs, this book is a great primer.      

Williams S. Burroughs info