[Junky] has its historical value, for it was one of the very first books to crack the veneer of the Eisenhower era, to reveal its schizoid nature, that empty smile glowing at the top and the nightmare working its way up through the back alleys. And it has its literary value, too. In some ways its detachment, its amoral cool, its clear hard prose give its nightmare vision a force that even Burroughs' later experimental explosions and naked lunches cannot match. Lee's search for "the uncut kick that opens out instead of narrowing down like junk" is still going on, and this bleak book remains a major navigational aid. (p. 16)