Dead Fingers Talk

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Title Dead Fingers Talk

1963 British hardcover edition.
Author	William S. Burroughs
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Novel
Publisher	Calder
Released	1963
Media type	Print (Hardcover and Paperback)
ISBN	NA

For the band named after this novel, see Dead Fingers Talk (band).

Dead Fingers Talk, first published in 1963, was the fifth novel published by Beat Generation author William S. Burroughs. The book was originally published by Olympia Press.

The book combines sections from Burroughs' earlier novels, Naked Lunch, The Soft Machine and The Ticket That Exploded, along with new material, in an attempt to create a new narrative. It is sometimes referred to as a compilation, but this is technically incorrect. Its plot cannot be easily described.

Dead Fingers Talk, like many of Burroughs' works, was controversial upon its release. It was the subject of a scathing review in the Times Literary Supplement that resulted in a war of words between supporters and detractors of the novel (and Burroughs in general) that played out in the magazine's letters page for months.

The book itself is considered one of the rarer of Burroughs' novels, and despite some reprints in the 1970s, has otherwise been out of print for years.

[edit] Trivia

The band Dead Fingers Talk takes its name from this book.

[edit] External links

• Collecting Dead Fingers Talk Article discussing the collectibility of Dead Fingers Talk
• Website discussing Burroughs. work and the reaction to Dead Fingers Talk.