Specify Containing Books Cities of the Red Night (The Red Night Trilogy #1)
| Title | : | Cities of the Red Night (The Red Night Trilogy #1) |
| Author | : | William S. Burroughs |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 332 pages |
| Published | : | May 4th 2001 by Picador (first published 1981) |
| Categories | : | Fiction. Science Fiction. Literature. Fantasy. Novels |
William S. Burroughs
Paperback | Pages: 332 pages Rating: 3.77 | 4428 Users | 241 Reviews
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Cities of the Red Night follows a dual narrative, slipping fluidly between the early 18th century exploits of a libertarian pirate crew, led by gunsmith Noah Blake, and the late 20th century “private asshole” (Clem Snide) hired to find the decapitated remains of one Jerry Green -- victim apparent of a bizarre hanging/sex cult. It is worth noting that hanging and the spontaneous erections/ejaculations induced by this mode of execution factor heavily into both tales, at times serving as the literal and symbolic connection between the two. Looking to the invocation, we find that the book itself is dedicated (amongst many others) to:"Ix Tab, Goddess of Ropes and Snares, patroness of those who hang themselves, to Schmuun, the Silent One, twin brother of Ix Tab, to Xolotl the Unformed, Lord of Rebirth, to Aguchi, Master of Ejaculations, to Osiris and Amen in phallic form, to Hex Chun Chan, the Dangerous One, to Ah Pook, the Destroyer, to the Great Old One and the Star Beast, to Pan, God of Panic, to the nameless gods of dispersal and emptiness, to Hassan i Sabbah, Master of Assassins, [and to] all the scribes and artists and practitioners of magic through whom these spirits have been manifested...."
This intercultural pantheon of creative and destructive deities embodies the underlying mythos of the novel, which centers on transmutation of the soul through the simultaneous experience of orgasm and bodily death. Suggested is the notion of the spirit itself erupting from the inflamed, blistering body, its distinctive musky aroma being that of the “Red Fever” (a.k.a. Virus B-23), a disease originally endemic to the ancient mythical cities for which the book is named: Tamaghis, Ba’dan, Yass-Waddah, Waghdas, Naufana, and Ghadis. In one early episode, the enigmatic Dr. Peterson explains his theory on the virus:
"Now let us consider the symptoms of Virus B-23: fever, rash, a characteristic odor, sexual frenzies, obsession with sex and death.... Is this so totally strange and alien? [...] We know that a consuming passion can produce physical symptoms ... fever ... loss of appetite ... even allergic reactions ... and few conditions are more obsessional and potentially self-destructive than love. Are not the symptoms of Virus B-23 simply the symptoms of what we are pleased to call ‘love’? Eve, we are told, was made from Adam’s rib ... so a hepatitis virus was once a healthy liver cell. If you will excuse me, ladies, nothing personal ... we are all tainted by viral origins."
This equating of human biology and behavior with that of a viral organism is perhaps nothing new, but in Cities of the Red Night it is employed as a vital first premise to the thesis postulated by the Western Lands trilogy, which this book serves to open. In the world put forth by Burroughs, it is the soul itself which is the virus, bound to spread from one corporeal form to the next, at least until it finds a host hardy enough to transcend life as we know it.
Up next, The Place of Dead Roads.
Particularize Books To Cities of the Red Night (The Red Night Trilogy #1)
| Original Title: | Cities of the Red Night |
| ISBN: | 0312278462 (ISBN13: 9780312278465) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | The Red Night Trilogy #1 |
Rating Containing Books Cities of the Red Night (The Red Night Trilogy #1)
Ratings: 3.77 From 4428 Users | 241 ReviewsCriticism Containing Books Cities of the Red Night (The Red Night Trilogy #1)
Burroughs's best, with reservations. In the intriguing parts of this 'everything AND the kitchen sink thrown-in' book you get (amongst MANY varying plots and scenes) non-Disneyesque liberal-minded pirate culture, Clem Snide's 'private asshole' detection into wealthy men seeking immortality through sodomy-strangulation, and an episode of a possible black hole in China's distant past that breeds a modern 'radiation virus,' B-23. All of these are wild, but solid narratives that are ruined byThis is the only book I've read of Burroughs after Naked Lunch that really stood up to the author's immense powers. It's just as crazy only with a slightly more coherant storyline, but only slightly. Great book with lots of homo-auto-erotic-axphysiation.
Cities of the Red Night follows a dual narrative, slipping fluidly between the early 18th century exploits of a libertarian pirate crew, led by gunsmith Noah Blake, and the late 20th century private asshole (Clem Snide) hired to find the decapitated remains of one Jerry Green -- victim apparent of a bizarre hanging/sex cult. It is worth noting that hanging and the spontaneous erections/ejaculations induced by this mode of execution factor heavily into both tales, at times serving as the literal
"Cities" affords a logical conclusion to the various literary techniques and experiments employed by Burroughs over three prolific if somewhat confused decades of work. The straight forward narrative style of his debut novel "Junky" is thankfully reinvented peppered with a Chandler type detective story which sets the early theme of the book. This overlaps a pirate story based on the apparently factual adventures of Captain Mission and his colony of Libertatians. The book develops to suggest an
Virus 23 is a virulent and fatal disease which causes sexual frenzies and violent death, threatening to break out into a pandemic. The virus has been latent since pre-history, before the existence of white-skinned peoples, caused by a meteorite / black hole incident in the Gobi Desert, where peaceful townships suffered mutations when the radiation triggered the virus and turned paradise into The Cities of the Red Night.Burroughs, in an uncharacteristically coherent vein, adopts (mostly) linear
Burroughs weaves a thrilling detective yarn in this novel and really gets down to the elements and structure of society.
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