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BURROWING

                                              August 20, 2005


I went looking through William
Burroughs' "Junky" (1953) and          (aka "Junkie")
I see it shows very little
mention of Joan Volmer...
                                        LOOKING_FOR_JOAN_VOLLMER
We barely know she exists until
the main character ("Lee") is
questioned by the police, and we
find out he has a common law
wife who is a benzedrine addict.

There's only one piece of dialog
quoted for her:

   "When my wife saw I was getting the
   habit again, she did something she
   had never done before.  I was
   cooking up a shot two days after
   I'd connected with Old Ike.  My
   wife grabbed the spoon and threw
   the junk on the floor.  I slapped
   her twice across the face and she
   threw herself on the bed, sobbing,
   then turned around and said to me:
   'Don't you want to do anything at
   all?  You know how bored you get
   when you have a habit.  It's like
   all the lights went out.  Oh well,
   do what you want.  I guess you
   have some stashed, anyway.' "


         p. 117, Penguin edition.


She's never called by any name but
"my wife" or ("the old lady").

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