My Education: A Book of Dreams

My Education is William S. Burroughs's final collection, first published two years before his death in 1997. It is a book of dreams, written over several decades and as personal and close to a memoir as we will see. The dreams cover themes from the mundane and ordinary -- conversations with his friends Allen Ginsberg or Ian Sommerville, feeding his cats, procuring drugs or sex -- to the erotic, bizarre, and visionary. Always a rich source of imagery in Burroughs's own fiction, in this book, dreams become a direct and powerful force in themselves. "Mr. Burroughs has lost none of his irreverence or wit, but in recent years he has acquired an elegant, elegiac tone." – The New York Times

William S. Burroughs is quite infamous, as is his group of Beatnik friends. Here we get to take a look into Burrough's subconscious. He rarely gives us more than his dreams themselves, only occasionally making conscious waking comments or giving us a bit of related information. Some is done with the "cut-up" technique. This was the last novel published by Burroughs before his death in 97. Here lie Burrough's dream cats, strange phantom creatures, searches for drugs, sex, breakfast, flying and levitation dreams, packing dreams, we see it all, Tangier, London, Paris, Ian Sommerville, Allen Ginsberg, Brion Gysin, even L. Ron Hubbard. All of these and more twist and turn within Burroughs sleeping mind, giving witness to a ghost-like opiate show more induced nightmare reality. You may find it interesting to research how Burroughs wrote. In the end, I only felt a deep pity for the man. show less