The Book of Shadows

Author's Name: William Burroughs

"...the final key always eluded me, and I decided that my search was as futile and misguided as the alchemists' search for the philosopher's stone. I decided that it was a mistake to think in terms of secret, key, or formula: the secret is that there is no secret. But I was wrong. There really is a secret, and it is now in the hands of ignorant and evil men, a secret next to which the atomic bomb is just a boisterous game. Like it or not, I was a participant. I had placed my life on the initial bet. I had no choice but to wait out the ride." This anthology includes stories from three books: *Interzone*, the texts of which were written between 1953 and 1959 and published in 1989; *Insecticide* (1973); and *Hurricane Alley* (1989). The anthology reflects the evolution of William Burroughs's style from the disciplined, terse, and neutral narrative of his early writings to the fragmentary, digressive, and intimate narrative of his later writings. "The only American novelist perhaps possessed by genius." - Norman Mailer "Burroughs is the greatest satirist since Jonathan Swift." - Jack Kerouac