---
product_id: 2731928
title: "And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks"
brand: "william s. burroughsjack kerouac"
price: "166 kr"
currency: DKK
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 7
url: https://www.desertcart.dk/products/2731928-and-the-hippos-were-boiled-in-their-tanks
store_origin: DK
region: Denmark
---

# And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks

**Brand:** william s. burroughsjack kerouac
**Price:** 166 kr
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks by william s. burroughsjack kerouac
- **How much does it cost?** 166 kr with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.dk](https://www.desertcart.dk/products/2731928-and-the-hippos-were-boiled-in-their-tanks)

## Best For

- william s. burroughsjack kerouac enthusiasts

## Why This Product

- Trusted william s. burroughsjack kerouac brand quality
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## Description

And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks

## Images

![And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/617X5I2egUL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ GREAT PRODUCT
*by C***R on November 16, 2023*

Item came before the scheduled time and was in excellent condition

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ IN PRINT AT LAST!!!!  For the first time in over 60 years!!!
*by B***7 on November 24, 2008*

First off, the release of this book is nothing short of a literary event: two literary icons known for their convention breaking novels collaborating in fiction and basing their book on a real life murder that happened within their circle of friends. "...HIPPOS..." is not as amazing as Kerouac publicly recalled it being, nor is it really the "minor work" that Burroughs dismissed it as. 64 years after it was written, this book takes on a new importance outside of it's literary merits. The work is instantly fascinating to me (as I think it will be to any fans of these writers) because it is an important early step in these artist's development. We can really get a sense of the early Beats relationships in the book, their wild energy and their literary fascinations.Kerouac and Burroughs wrote this book from two points of view. The Kerouac is the character Mike Ryko and Burroughs character is Will Dennison. For those of you aquainted with the circle of the Beats, Lucien Carr is the character Philip Tourian, David Kammerer is Al Ramsay, Edie Parker is Janie and Celine Young is Barbara....and so on.A note to the Kerouac fans....This was written before TOWN & THE CITY and has neither TCs sweeping Wolfean images or ON THE ROAD's spontanious bop prose. One can barely detect Jack's love for words in this book. His writing at times is a little whispy (which hints at his Wolfean tastes) but Jack never dives into the full breadth of nostalgia of which all Kerouac fans know he's capable. His writing is more clipped and economic. In fact one can imagine William Burroughs looking over Jack's pages and telling him, "Less literary, deary" In a rare moment of abandon, Jack does let his character Mike Ryko recount (at length) his wild experiences at sea but that monologue goes on a bit too long and disrupts the clipped flow of what is essentially a dime store crime novel.Bill's pages resemble his later though commonly dubbed "first book", JUNKY - a novel which I very much enjoyed for the same reason as I enjoyed this. It's early Burroughs, who writes his prose like an anthropologist or a police officer writes on his notepad, "Just the facts"****But one should keep in mind when reading this book that THESE ARE NOT THE FACTS about what happened with the Carr/Kammerer murder case. Jack and Bill are intentionally creating fictionalized account. Their creative embellishments sometimes reveal their personal interests or preoccupations so it becomes hard to decipher what in the book is fact and what is fiction - much like most of Jack's novels.Critical Readers Be Warned: I think the reader should curve their expectations accordingly, with respect to the writers youth and inexperience. Though indeed an interesting work, "...Hippos.." is not in the vein of their groundbreaking work. it's a good and quick read, though the book ends abruptly. It seems that Kerouac and Burroughs either lost interest in writing it or were discouraged by Lucien's wishes for them not to continue the book. It was due to Lucien's influence that the book has remained so long out of the public's hands for 60 years. It was only published after Lucien passed in 2005 - RIP.If it's facts about the real events you want I'd suggest reading one of the many Kerouac or Burroughs biographies available - though many have contradicting information. It should be mentioned that James Grauerholtz's Afterward for the book will be quite helpful for those unaware of the true facts of the case. And we should all give a big thank you to Mr. Grauerholtz, executive of the Burroughs estate for publishing this book at long last. It really is a gift.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ And the Hippos Were Boiled in Their Tanks
*by H***E on May 10, 2012*

Archetypal beat review of the seminal beat episode igniting the beat sensibility in Columbia's backyard; totally so beat. Take a breath, wipe your brow. Pour yourself a drink. Do some smack and crash in the mosh pit that is your girlfriend's apartment, if there's room. Better than the local news. A crime of passion among those so addled we are forever left to explain. The generation going nowhere heroically.Important historical context for those bursting with explosions in their head to go on the road...

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*Product available on Desertcart Denmark*
*Store origin: DK*
*Last updated: 2026-02-04*