The book is structured as a series of loosely connected vignettes , intended by Burroughs to be read in any order. The novel follows the junkie William Lee, who takes on various aliases, from the U.
The novel was highly controversial, and its supposed obscenity led to a series of high-profile legal challenges. The novel remains divisive, but both admirers and critics recognize it as one of the defining works of the Beat generation. To ensure the area's neutrality, the Zone was overseen by representatives from multiple European nations alongside the sultan of Morocco.
William S. Burroughs moved to the Tangier International Zone in , shortly after the publication of his first novel Junkie. Burroughs was attracted by the zone's reputation for allowing drug use and homosexuality, as portrayed in the works of Paul Bowles , and declared his intention to "steep myself in vice". In May , Burroughs began work on what would become Naked Lunch. He mailed his early drafts to his friends Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac , who were the core members of the Beat generation along with Burroughs himself.
In a letter to Ginsberg, Burroughs explicitly identified the novel's Interzone as a stand-in for the Tangier International Zone. While living in Tangier, Burroughs witnessed violent clashes between Moroccan nationalists and French authorities over its political status.
Burroughs did not take a strong stance on the conflict, at one point calling himself "the most politically neutral man in Africa". He defended the riots as just and denounced the brutality of European imperialism , but worried about the impact of Islamic rule on individual freedom. In , Burroughs attempted to quit Eukodol by checking himself into Benchimol Hospital, where his experiences helped inspire the character of Dr Benway.
