Burroughs, William S.

Naked Lunch (9-CD Restored Text Audiobook)

Holland, OH: Blackstone Audio / Midwest Tape LLC, 2009. First Edition Thus / Repackaged Edition. CDs. (Schottlaender E17c., pg. 110). "Naked Lunch is a blueprint, a How-to Book...Black insect lusts open into vast, other planet landscapes...Abstract concepts, bare as algebra, narrow down to a black turd or a pair of aging cajones..." (pg. 215) Among the essential primary works associated with the Beat Generation along with Allen Ginsberg's “Howl” & Jack Kerouac's “On the Road,” the significance & far-reaching influence of William S. Burroughs' Naked Lunch goes far deeper than our brief description can begin to touch on. This said, you’ve got to love the pocket description on the back of this 9-CD set featuring the Restored Text of William S. Burroughs’ groundbreaking classic, “Naked Lunch.” “An addict-hustler treks to Mexico in order to gain quick access to drugs. He soon finds himself in a bizarre fantasy world.” Now, imagine if you know absolutely nothing about William S. Burroughs, and that sounds like a plotline with some potential. Before you know it, you find yourself in the company of hangings, ejaculations, talking assholes and stool pigeons. Does that qualify as a literary kidnapping? From the collection of Brian Schottlaender, author of "Anything But Routine," the most complete & up-to-date WSB bibliography now in its fourth ever-expanding online edition. We always consult our good friend Brian's ABR for all our WSB-related rarities. Not much information exists surrounding this edition, but We at TMB believe that this is a ripe candidate for inclusion in the next edition of Brian’s ABR, specifically under the heading “E17d.” The full text as found under the heading for E17c. in ABR is as follows: “Naked Lunch: The Restored Text. Edited by James Grauerholz and Barry Miles. Read by Mark Brahmhall. Ashland, Oregon: Blackstone Audio, 2009 (Z4954). Nine compact discs in two cardboard sleeves, inside a cardboard box.” The key word here is “cardboard.” As you can see from the pictures, it is housed in half-clear plastic sleeves inside of a larger plastic encasing. On the front of the item, we find the phrase: “Repackaged by Midwest Tape, *see back for details.” We turn to the back and find the following phrase beside the directional asterisk: “This audiobook has been repackaged by Midwest Tape, LLC, a wholly separate and distinct company from the publisher. Midwest Tape, LLC, PO Box 820, Holland, Ohio 43528.” So, essentially what we have here is what will in all likelihood be “Entry No. E17d” in Brian’s forthcoming edition of ABR. [ISBN: 978-1-4332-5967-8]. As for the condition of the CDs within this package: while we would love to spend ten hours and 30 minutes pushing the plunger downward and send our Burroughs-seeking cells into a state of rarefied stupor, we simply do not have time to check the entire set for skips or defects of a similar nature where they may occur. The matter is further complicated by the fact that—due to the reflective nature of the “playing side” of a CD—we cannot scan or photograph them. If we could, we would of course be including images of each CD and leaving an assessment on the matter within the jurisdiction of the buyer. We are going to give the package a blanket grading of “Very Good,” as the CDs do contain slight, scattered scratches and brown flecks (which look as though they might be easily cleaned off). All of this considered, this listing is ultimately for the Burroughs completist. Very Good. [Item #4693]

Price: $35.00