The western lands
by William S. Burroughs · first published 1987
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For a different perspective, I recommend The Western Lands by William S. Burroughs.
on “The Art of Not Dying: the First Emperor’s Pursuit of Immortality” ↗…I'm especially interested in books about getting complete with life. I'm also into amusing and distracting. Top on my list are William S. Burroughs' last trilogy (especially Place of Dead Roads and The Western Lands) and Matthew Stover's Caine series (especially Caine Black Knife and Caine's Law). Burroughs published that trilogy when he was about my age, and there's some amazing stuff about how memory shows up.…
on “Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?” ↗…often not counted as part of his ordinary canon of work (the former was written first and published only posthumously). They're both biographical of course, and approachable. Later in life he wrote The Western Lands which is a fairly straightforward biography, and worth reading.
on “William S. Burroughs's Paintings (2015)” ↗All great books but missing some important items: - Candide - A Peoples History... - Manufacturing Consent - Dharma Bums - Naked Lunch/Western Lands - Infinite Jest - Something Thompson, Campaign Trail '72 maybe.
on “The Mensa Reading List for Grades 9-12” ↗Yeah. Sorry. I mean no disrespect. I only know that stuff from Burroughs' The Western Lands, which is his take on a "book of the dead".
on “Counting the Components of My Consciousness” ↗William S. Burroughs: "Hurry up, please. It's time." And OK, those weren't his last words. They were the last words in his last book, The Western Lands. Maybe they were more about being ready for death. His final journal entries were published as Last Words: The Final Journals. My favorite: > Here I sit with my three old cats, getting closer to eternity…
on “What People Say Before They Die” ↗…evolution could have taken a better turn. Ancient Evenings - Norman Mailer This book, the only lengthy novel in this list, I first looked up because Burroughs referenced it as his inspiration for 'The Western Lands'. When I noticed it starts with my favourite Yeats quote I knew I needed to read this. Even though Burroughs could never have written it like this, at times it is more Burroughs then Burroughs himself.…
on “Ask HN: What is the most mind blowing book you've ever read?” ↗"Hurry up, please. It's time." William S. Burroughs, Western Lands, 1987 He lived another decade, however.
on “Jisei: The Japanese Death Poem (2013)” ↗…criticism may be. Do not let the critic teach you the cloth, as they say in bullfighting circles. Never charge the cloth, even if the critic resorts to actual misquotation." -- William S. Burroughs, "The Western Lands"
on “I kissed comment culture goodbye” ↗