Book Review: And The Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks

Book #4 of 2011

During their lifetimes, despite Kerouac’s efforts, Burroughs refused to have the book published. It was written before either of them were famous, in alternating chapters, based on a real life experience. Burroughs claimed it wasn’t a distinguished work and that it wasn’t worth publishing. Mostly, he was right.

The events in the book are as follows: Lucien Carr, one of Kerouac and Burroughs’ closest friends, killed David Kammerer, another of their close friends. He stabbed him to death while drunk, dumped his body in the Hudson River, and then confessed to Burroughs and Kerouac. They didn’t report him to the police, so when Carr eventually turned himself in to the police, they were arrested as accessories after the fact. Burroughs was bailed out by his family, but Kerouac served some time because his father refused to pay bail. 

See, it’s the premise for an incredibly interesting book. And it’s Burroughs and Kerouac together. I was so very excited for this book, but unfortunately in the end, Burroughs was right when he said that it wasn’t a very good book. They wrote this before they were writers, really, and it’s so average and bland. Neither of the styles they would be famous for later is evident much. I would have settled for just slightly evident, a bud of the flower, but it’s barely a seedling. I am glad I read it, and it’s definitely a fantastic thing to see that writers can and do improve, and those who are known for very distinct styles did not always have them. 

Essentially, though, if this was published anonymously, or if it was published as Jones & Brown or whatever, I doubt it would’ve made much of a blip on the publishing industry. It’s interesting because it’s them, and for the choices they made, and that is all.