Naked Lunch with elements of Burroughs' life, creating a hybrid film about the writing of the book rather than the book itself. Peter Weller starred as William Lee, the pseudonym Burroughs used when he wrote "Junkie". Naked Lunch Naked Lunch (sometimes The Naked Lunch) is a novel by American writer William S. Burroughs, originally published in 1959. The book is structured as a series of loosely connected vignettes. Burroughs stated that the chapters are intended to be read in any order. The reader follows the narration of junkie William Lee, who takes on various aliases, from the U.S. to Mexico, eventually to
Ali's Smile: Naked Scientology a scholar of the Beats, describes as "a tormented but supremely curious person who explored the dark side of the human consciousness." Burroughs often probed contentious social and political problems with "a cold-blooded, almost insectlike presence" that influenced popular culture as well as literature. Burroughs believed readers needed to take an active part in reshaping their own reality through reading. For example, works such as the controversial novel "Naked Lunch" (1959) dealt with his concerns regarding "the battle against control," and Burroughs wrote others "might see the control that governments, religions, greedy human beings, and their own cravings for drugs,