The Wild Boys: A Book of the Dead
First edition
AuthorWilliam S. Burroughs
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
PublisherGrove Press
Publication date
1971
Media typePrint (Hardcover and Paperback)
Pages184 pp
ISBN0-394-47586-0
OCLC222299
813/.5/4
LC ClassPZ4.B972 Wi PS3552.U75

The Wild Boys: A Book of the Dead is a novel by William S. Burroughs. It was first published in 1971 by Grove Press. It depicts a homosexual youth movement whose objective is the downfall of western civilization, set in an apocalyptic late twentieth century.

Film adaptation proposals

In 1972, Burroughs wrote a screenplay based on the novel, with the intent of having it produced as a low-budget hardcore pornographic film, and entered into negotiations with gay porn producer Fred Halsted before abandoning the idea at the end of 1972.[1]

Russell Mulcahy wanted to direct a film adaptation, and talked to Duran Duran about writing the soundtrack, but the project never came to fruition.[2] Nonetheless, the novel inspired the Duran Duran song "The Wild Boys".[2]

Allusions in other works

References

  1. ^ William S. Burroughs, Bill Morgan (ed.), Rub Out the Words: The Letters of William S. Burroughs, 1959-1974 (New York: Harper Collins, 2012), pp. 390–394.
  2. ^ a b VH1 interview with John Taylor
  3. ^ Christopher Sandford, Bowie: Loving The Alien. Da Capo Press, 2003, 1998. ISBN 978-0-306-80854-8
  4. ^ "Hitchcock, Soft Boys Still Rock Hard". The Harvard Crimson. Thecrimson.com. 20 April 2001. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  5. ^ Jon Savage (10 May 2008). "Jon Savage on Ian Curtis's reading". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 July 2012.


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