Dead Fingers Talk

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Dead Fingers Talk
1963 British hardcover edition.
Author	William S. Burroughs
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	Novel
Publisher	Calder
Publication date	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.
The video game Shadow Hearts: From The New World has a battle theme called "Dead Fingers Talk."

[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.

v • d • e Works by William S. Burroughs

Novels and Novellas:	And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks • Junkie • Queer • Naked Lunch • The Soft Machine • The Ticket That Exploded • Dead Fingers Talk • Nova Express • The Last Words of Dutch Schultz • The Wild Boys • Port of Saints • Blade Runner (a movie) • Cities of the Red Night • Ghost of Chance • The Place of Dead Roads • The Western Lands • My Education: A Book* of Dreams* • The Cat Inside

Short story collections:	Interzone • Exterminator! • Ah Pook is Here • Ali's Smile/Naked Scientology • Tornado Alley • The Burroughs File • The Third Mind

Essay collections:	The Electronic Revolution • The Third Mind • Ali's Smile/Naked Scientology• The Adding Machine: Collected Essays

Non-fiction:	The Yage Letters • The Job: Interviews with William S. Burroughs • Letters to Allen Ginsberg • The Burroughs File • Last Words: The Final Journals of William S. Burroughs

Recording:	Dead City Radio

Films:	The Junky's Christmas • Ah Pook is Here • Naked Lunch

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Categories: 1963 novels | Novels by William S. Burroughs | 1960s novel stubs