Description:
First published in 1995 in Mexico, The Stray Bullet is a riveting account of William S. Burroughs's formative experiences in Mexico, his fascination with Mexico City's demimonde, his acquaintances and friendships there, and his contradictory attitudes toward the country and its culture. This compelling book also offers a contribution by Burroughs himself as well as previously unpublished letters written by Burroughs from Mexico.
Review Quotes:
#11;I liked Mexico City from the first day of my visit there. In 1949, it was a cheap place to live, with a large foreign colony, fabulous whorehouses and restaurants, cockfights and bullfights, and every conceivable diversion.#11;
--from William S. Burroughs, Queer#11;
"Burroughs's relationship with Mexico was a complicated mesh of idyllic dreams and frustration with the country's bureaucracy. García-Robles successfully shows how the writer's life mirrors this relationship."--Library Journal
"Jorge García-Robles, a leading authority on the Beats in Mexico, skillfully blends meticulous research, interviews, and correspondence with Burroughs in this fascinating book."--World Literature Today
"in Garcia-Robles's hands, Burroughs's rationale for travel to Mexico, thoughts about the culture, and the influence of his experiences in Mexico on his writing transcend the genre of biography by imaginatively filling in the gaps that letters and interviews leave and creating a kind of moody atmosphere for readers to enter as they follow Burroughs before moving through the shooting of Joan Vollmer and its aftermath."--The Year's Work in English Studies
"The Stray Bullet: William S. Burroughs in Mexico enhances the critical understanding of Burrough's writing as a remarkably keen series of commentaries on extended imperial networks."--American Book Review
"The book is grimly fascinating in a 1950s, 'noirish' way."--Geist