Author:William S. Burroughs,Oliver Harris
Originally written in 1952 but not published till 1985, Queer is an enigma - both an unflinching autobiographical self-portrait and a coruscatingly political novel, Burroughs' only realist love story and a montage of comic-grotesque fantasies that paved the way for his masterpiece, Naked Lunch. Set in Mexico City during the early fifties, Queer follows William Lee's hopeless pursuit of desire from bar to bar in the American expatriate scene. As Lee breaks down, the trademark Burroughsian voice emerges; a maniacal mix of self-lacerating humor and the Ugly American at his ugliest. A haunting tale of possession and exorcism, Queer is also a novel with a history of secrets, as this new edition reveals.
Queer is a stunner. A neglected work that became legendary in its very absence.
—— Los Angeles TimesRoald Dahl is one of the few writers I know whose work can accurately be described as addictive
—— Irish TimesWilliams's ear for dialogue, eye for character, and exploration of love, longing and loneliness are as powerful in these stories as they are in his plays.
—— John Berendt, author of Midnight In The Garden Of Good And EvilThere used to be two streetcars in New Orleans. One was named Desire and the other was called Cemeteries. To get where you were going, you changed from the first to the second. In these stories, Tennessee validated with his genius our common ticket of transfer
—— Gore VidalAs in the plays, it is the force and adroitness of his curiosity that impresses.
—— GuardianAlthough Murakami's style and deadpan humour are wonderfully distinctive, his emotional territory is more familiar - remorse, unresolved confusion, sudden epiphanies - though heightened by the surreal... For all its peculiarity, Planet Murakami offers a recognisable landscape of our fears
—— ObserverDisarming, amusing and reveals his lightness of touch
—— Scotland on SundayA beguiling collection that shows off Murakami's bold inventiveness and deep compassion
—— MetroMurakami is excellent at creating an intense mood in a swift few lines... always provocative and never less than engaging
—— Daily TelegraphBy turns disturbing and delightful, funny strange and funny ha-ha...Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman is a handsome volume of prose, every bit as substantial as a novel...They show him at his very best; not as a cult novelist but as a really first-rate writer of short fiction
—— GuardianFunny but also sad and wise
—— Sunday TelegraphMurakami’s fictional world is extraordinary.
—— The Sunday TimesJulian Barnes reminds us what an exhilarating experience it can be to read a really good critic.
—— Jane Shilling , Sunday TelegraphA compulsive page-turner.
—— Tim Adams , ObserverBarnes’s passion for his writers is infectious.
—— Ion Trewin , Sunday ExpressBlissfully intelligent.
—— Roger Lewis , Financial TimesThe temptation to turn away is powerful, but the rewards for resisting it are considerable. These essays combine a scholarly breadth of knowledge with a powerful sense of the absurdities of the creative life.
—— Jane Shilling , Sunday TelegraphThrough the Window is a wonderful and very interesting collection of essays that rewards close, and also measured, reading.
—— Brendan Wright , NudgeA masterclass display of versatility... mood and style in these richly concise, crisply written pieces are confidently varied, too... adding vitality to the virtuosity is a terrific ear for idiomatic speech
—— Peter Kemp , Sunday TimesA writer who reveals the power of the short story to speak for our time
—— Irish TimesO’Connor is a gifted storyteller… [He] has a wonderful ear for dialogue and is a master of the telling phrase
—— Brian Maye , Irish TimesThis collection is beautiful; full of pure, simple truths that linger long in the mind
—— Philip Womack , New Humanist