Buster was the first, and arguably the most traditional, work of fiction
by Alan Burns - dating from before his aleatoric style developed into
"cutting up", but displaying early examples of the trademark disjointed,
brisk and biting style which earned him a cult following. Imbued with
autobiographical sentiment, the novel shows a young man's upbringing
during World War II and his disillusioned vision of the post-war world.
Never before published in standalone volume form since its original
publication in the inaugural New Writers anthology in 1961, Buster is
characteristically succinct and of huge literary merit, but in its
autobiographical and pre-aleatoric style it provides, perhaps more
importantly, a key to understanding the rest of Burns's works.