Synopsis
Semi-autobiographical account of a man’s various relationships with men in Mexico in the early 1950s.
History
First publication: Penguin Books
Review
Queer was Burrough’s second novel by himself, even though it wasn’t published until 1985 and so appears later in his bibliography. The books was intended to be a sequel to Junky. As such, it did sort of continue with events in Mexico, but with different character names and a different focus. This book is mainly focused on two men in a relationship as they interact with other men in bars and go searching for a “telepathy drug.” The sexual content is pretty tame by today’s standards, with only one dream on the part of the main character where sex is described, but not all that explicitly. The narrative was pretty straightforward and didn’t feel experimental. The writing flowed well, the characters and places were realized well. Overall an enjoyable book, but it was nothing that wowed me. Recommended if you are okay with the theme, but don’t expect this to seem like a great American classic.
