And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks

By: Jack Kerouac, William S. Burroughs

Narrated by: Ray Porter

More than 60 years ago, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, two novice writers at the dawn of their careers, sat down to write a novel about the summer of 1944, when one of their friends killed another in a moment of brutal and tragic bloodshed. Alternating chapters, they pieced together a hard-boiled tale of bohemian New York during World War II, full of drugs and obsession, art and violence.

The manuscript, named after a line from a news story about a fire at a circus, was rejected by publishers and confined to a filing cabinet for decades. Now, for the first time, this legendary collaboration between two of the 20th century's most influential writers is being released. Both a fascinating piece of American literary history and an engrossing, atmospheric novel, it brings to life a shocking murder at the dawn of the Beat Generation.

Walk the Beat with Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs.©2008 the Estate of Jack Kerouac and the William S. Burroughs Trust (P)2008 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

underrated!

If you could sum up And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks in three words, what would they be?

historical, shocking, honest

What did you like best about this story?

The movement between chapters made it impossible to stop listening.

What does Ray Porter bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I felt like I was listening to the authors telling their story.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

YES!

Any additional comments?

Dare I say this may be my favorite Kerouac?

Better To Read, Not Listen

Let me start off by saying the narration in this is fantastic. Porter does a great job throwing his voice to a multitude of different characters. However, I found the story’s structure hard to follow as an auditory piece. I was driving while listening so maybe it’s better off not being heard while multitasking. Either way, I felt as though I would have enjoyed this story better had I read it and not listened or read then listened.

Can't be Beat

An incredible narration by what can easily be identified as a quintessential piece of early work by Kerouac and Burroughs.

Not a great story.

Put into the context of a biography written many years before the characters/authors of the Beat Generation, this story is interesting.

As a stand alone piece, the story is not very good.

My First Beat Generation Book

Intricate in its mundane nature, it was hard to feel when the plot was going to “happen.” But I love this as an introduction to the Beat Generation and look forward to reading more.