Ms. Smarty Pants Know It All

I’m pretty sheltered I know. The dope addicts I can list are from fiction: Molly from Deadwood, Mrs Dubois from To Kill A Mockingbird, and Bubbles from The Wire.

In Junky, the addict William Lee is built from the author’s own experiences. And his experiences with junk are definitely closer to Bubbles’s portrayal than Mrs. Dubois’s.

But this narrative is extremely narrow and focused. For whatever reason, we know next to nothing about William Lee’s background or if he has any distinct personality traits.

As the book’s title says, this is an account of him as a junky. Seemingly relevant information, like how he gets money to keep up his habit, are missing. The only thing we get to learn is that he becomes a dealer on occasion. This information escaped his ruthless detail culling because, of course, it relates directly to the junk. We need to know how the drug gets to the users.

Meanwhile, other life points, like a wife and kids, are mentioned as casually as a trip to the store. I swear I got eyeball whiplash the first time I saw wife on the page.

Burroughs’s hyper and narrow focus brings the junky lifestyle into analytical focus. The tellings of how the drugs feel and how the illegal operations work seem almost journalistic.

The book doesn’t go into sentimentality or overblown prose. What’s powerful is, even without the gothic horrors or the bleeding heart public service announcements, his existence comes across as desperate and not at all cool.

But, the matter of fact tone does make it seem that drugs, even heroine, may be something one can control, if one is tough enough. I’m sure parents and the establishment are not going to like that.

1% Well-Read Challenge status: eight completed, two to go.
What’s In A Name Challenge status: five completed, one to go.

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