Erik Graff's Reviews > Junkie

Other than smoking some in high school and reading some books taking either a sociological or pharmacological approach to the subject, I've never had much exposure to the heroin habit. The pleasure it afforded during a week of adolescent experimentation wasn't captivating and although I've been acquainted with some habitual users, I've never been intimate with one, never lived with one. This semi-autobiographical account is the closest I've ever gotten to how it might feel to be a person with the habit and no ever-ready way to sustain it. It's a dark picture.

Habits I do understand. I myself am a smoker and have been in circumstances of desire where I've walked considerable distances at night to buy a pack. I've also tried fasting and have noted that the expectation of eating every day has a similar insistency. Also, I've known, even lived with, persons with serious alcohol habits. All share common characteristics, but all are different enough that it takes something like Burroughs' book for me to begin to appreciate heroin.

The most affecting parts of 'Junkie' are those describing the gulf between the obsessively felt need and its satisfaction. The protagonist is no rich man able to manage his habit safely and get on with the rest of life. Instead, he must hustle; must risk running afoul of the law; may, in extremis, betray any relationship, break any convention. He's depraved and he knows it--a condition only mitigated by the fact that many of his "friends" and associates are in a similar situation.

Burroughs was one of the popular writers among my high school set. I avoided him because the descriptions I'd heard of his 'Naked Lunch' and other books made them sound confusing and obscure and because, frankly, I had a strong prejudice against heroin and heroin addicts. Over the years, however, reading more about him and some extracts of his writing in other books, I softened my opposition enough to pick this one up when I came upon it. It certainly wasn't fun, but it was a quick and dirty read and would likely be of service to anyone at risk or concerned about heroin users. I passed on my copy immediately.