Naked Lunch

The book is based on events that took place in the 1940s, primarily occurring in Mexico City, Interzone (or "El Puto"), and Tangier. It can be considered a revised edition of Junky (1953), his first attempt at an autobiography, from which he removed the name William Lee, the protagonist. The events described in the book take place between 1944 and 1947. In 1945 and 1947 Burroughs traveled to New York with his childhood sweetheart Joan Vollmer to score drugs — with disastrous consequences. During the trip to New York in 1947, Burroughs and Vollmer were involved in a car accident; Vollmer lost her life, while Burroughs was badly injured and almost died.