The antinovel does not follow a clear linear plot, but is instead structured as a series of non-chronological "routines". Many of these routines follow William Lee, an opioid addict who travels to the surreal city of Interzone and begins working for the organization "Islam Inc.
Burroughs wrote Naked Lunch while living in the Tangier International Zone , which inspired the book's Interzone setting. There, he witnessed escalating tensions between European powers and the Moroccan Nationalist Movement , which are reflected in Interzone's fictional political struggles. Burroughs also struggled with opioid addiction, which the novel describes extensively, although critics disagree whether the novel uses opioids as a metaphor for broader forms of control.
The novel was highly controversial for its depictions of drug use, sadomasochism, and body horror , including a famous description of a man's talking anus taking over his body. The book was considered obscene by the United States Postal Service , the state of Massachusetts , and the city of Los Angeles , each leading to separate legal challenges. In the Massachusetts trial, now recognized as a landmark censorship case, defense attorney Edward de Grazia called writers such as Allen Ginsberg , John Ciardi , and Norman Mailer to testify to the book's literary merit.
Although the court initially ruled the book was in fact obscene, this decision was overturned by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court , which allowed the book to be sold. Naked Lunch has received a divided critical response. The book's admirers have compared it to the satires of Jonathan Swift and the religious works of Dante Aligheri and Hieronymous Bosch.
Its detractors have compared it to pornography, often calling it monotonous and boring. The book has been considered dystopian science fiction , postmodern , parodic , and picaresque. Its experimental techniques have been highly influential on rock music and the cyberpunk genre. Naked Lunch is considered one of the defining texts of the Beat Generation.
