Will
Failed to add items
Sorry, we are unable to add the item because your shopping cart is already at capacity.
Add to basket failed.
Please try again later
Add to Wish List failed.
Please try again later
Remove from Wish List failed.
Please try again later
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for 3 months + $20 Audible bonus voucher
Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.
Offer ends on 28 December, 2026.
Will
Narrated by:
Will Self
Buy Now for $26.93
-
Narrated by:
-
Will Self
-
By:
-
Will Self
Summary
There's some sort of running symbolism or metaphor about Jesus martyrdom and rehearsing some sort of play it's some sort of comment again on self perception and the watcher. It's an interesting metaphor regarding self martyrdom and like you're rehearsing for self martyrdom and that seems to be one of his angles on addiction. I enjoy his fight against the establishment clinic as it deconstructs his personality in order to reinvent his drug-addled brain. And just like when he wanted to whisper through the letterbox of a heroin addict that he knew before he himself went down the road of addiction, he had questions like, do you feel you could stop, et cetera, et cetera. I would like to whisper through Will's letterbox now. Can you enjoy a drink on occasion? Or have you totally abstained? In fact, I'll just Google it. Nah, looks like he's stopped. Well, yeah, I still enjoy a tipple.
What else can I say about this story? Well, I've read just about every drug addict story on the shelf, including the ones he mentioned that were on his shelf. Diary of a drug fiend was just an entree. I mean, I went for service à la russe. Will is aware of his place in the genre, and he speaks to that. He speaks to his time and place. In 70s London and the Squats and Thatcher, I'm surprised he didn't mention the Russian novel "Novel with Cocaine". Of all the books I've read, that one's actually maybe the closest to the way he frames his story. The book also covers his adventures in Australia, which is where I live, which I found also interesting because... We potentially could have rubbed shoulders, but again... We were probably about five years apart here, and he spent his time in Northern Territory and Canberra, whereas I spent most of my time in Sydney and a tiny, tiny amount of time in Canberra. It was more of a rite of passage for Aussie artists around that time to travel to London to establish their addiction rather than vice versa. He talks about this rite of passage quite a lot because, again, he references literature as his initial inspiration into getting into the world of drugs in the first place. Oh, of course he references Burroughs, and that's probably one of the top shelf books. Junkie. It's pretty funny that he was awarded one of William Burroughs books. I think he said he got given it as a prize in high school or something. Hilarious. He uses lyrics from songs of the time, leaving breadcrumbs everywhere of drug culture myths, such as using the lyrics from the David Bowie album Hunky Dory, immersed in Crowley's uniform of imagery... Even writing the review now, I'm getting flashbacks from decades ago, the will to know, how we choose our gurus and some of them are pretty dark, the pop culture icons, the literary outlaws, and he makes reference to that in this beautiful moment when he's sniffing a line from an Elvis Costello LP in Canberra (from memory.) in some strange person's flat and recounts that he did exactly the same thing only weeks before in London in another stranger's squat or something. The exact same album. Hilarious.
The fact the author narrates his own book made it so much more enjoyable. I really do love audio books that are narrated by the author. The self-deprecating humor rolls off the tongue authentically. So thank you Will. I really enjoyed this.
The author doesn't let himself off the hook.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.