Cities of the Red Night

Cities of the Red Night
Cities of the Red Night  
CitiesRedNight.jpg
Hardcover edition by Viking Press
Author(s) William S. Burroughs
Country United States
Language English
Series Cities of the Red Night trilogy
Genre(s) Novel
Publisher Viking Press
Publication date 1981
Media type Print (Hardcover and Paperback)
ISBN ISBN 0-312-27846-2 (US Paperback)
OCLC Number 46887518
Followed by The Place of Dead Roads

Cities of the Red Night is a novel by American author William S. Burroughs. It is part of his final trilogy of novels, known as The Red Night Trilogy, followed by The Place of Dead Roads and The Western Lands, and was first published in 1981. It was his first full-length novel since The Wild Boys a decade earlier. The plot revolves around a group of radical pirates who seek the freedom to live under the articles set out by Captain James Mission. In near present day, a parallel story follows a detective searching for a lost boy, abducted for use in a sexual ritual. The cities of the title mimic and parody real places, and Burroughs makes references to the United States, Mexico, and Morocco.

Contents

Plot introduction

The plot follows a nonlinear course through time and space. It imagines an alternate history in which Captain James Mission's Libertatia lives on. His way of life is based on The Articles, a general freedom to live as one chooses, without prejudice. The novel is narrated from two different standpoints; one set in the 18th century which follows a group of pirate boys led by Noah Blake, who land in Panama to liberate it. The other is set in the late 20th century, and follows a detective tracing the disappearance of an adolescent boy.

Origin of the title

The title refers to the six cities of the red night: Tamaghis, Ba'dan, Yass-Waddah, Waghdas, Naufana, and Ghadis. One must make the Pilgrimage through all six cities which, it is said, may take multiple lifetimes. Each reveals a different permutation of the famous aphorism of Hassan i Sabbah: "Nothing is True, Everything is Permitted." This is apparently in reference to the sixth chapter of the third book of an Arabic magical text, the Ghayat al-Hakim or the Picatrix.

The disease

In the novel, the world is plagued by a viral disease that destroys humanity and has a relationship to sex.

Art

The cover art for the 1981 Holt-Rinehart-Winston first edition is Pieter Brueghel the Elder's 1562 painting "The Triumph of Death".

Footnotes

External links



Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Cities of the Red Night — by William S. Burroughs (1981)    This first book in a trilogy of novels was published in the 1980s that also includes The place of dead roads and The western lands. Although written late in William S. Burroughs’s life, these three novels are… …   Encyclopedia of Beat Literature

  • Cities of the Red Night — …   Википедия

  • The Red Green Show — From left to right, Harold (Patrick McKenna), Red (Steve Smith) and Bill (Rick Green). Format Sitcom Sketch comedy …   Wikipedia

  • The Adding Machine: Collected Essays — The Adding Machine   First edition …   Wikipedia

  • Echoes of the Bronze Night — refers to the aftermath of the Bronze Night in Tallinn.Political reactions Katyn Committee (relatives of Polish officers, who were executed on the orders of the Soviet authorities in the village of Katyn) in Poland, said: [Estonia] suffered from… …   Wikipedia

  • The Place of Dead Roads — infobox Book | name = The Place of Dead Roads title orig = translator = image caption = Hardcover edition by Viking Press. author = William S. Burroughs cover artist = country = United States language = English series = Cities of the Red Night… …   Wikipedia

  • The Western Lands — infobox Book | name = The Western Lands title orig = translator = image caption = 1987 Viking Press hardcover edition. author = William S. Burroughs cover artist = country = United States language = English series = Cities of the Red Night… …   Wikipedia

  • The Place of Dead Roads — Пространство мёртвых дорог The Place of Dead Roads Обложка издания 1983 года. Жанр: Роман Автор: Берроуз, Уильям Сьюард Язык оригинала: английский …   Википедия

  • Where the Red Fern Grows — infobox Book | name = Where the Red Fern Grows title orig = translator = image caption = author = Wilson Rawls country = United States language = English series = genre = Children s literature publisher = Doubleday release date = 1961 media type …   Wikipedia

  • The Biggest Loser (U.S. TV series) — The Biggest Loser Format Reality TV Created by Dave Broome Presented by Caroline Rhea (2004–2006) Alison Sweeney (2007–present) Starring Bob Harper (2 …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”