 "Hilarious, but drab; the party overstayed its welcome." | 2008-09-03 |
| - Reviewed By angrymofo |
How can a book be hilarious and drab at the same time? Well, imagine this situation: you've arrived at a huge party with your friends. You're really pumped, you're telling jokes, and everyone is laughing, and your friends are enjoying your company, and everyone is having a good time. But then, a few hours later, your adrenaline runs out, and you've already told your best jokes. Now, you have to force yourself to have fun -- you're talking much louder than you should, trying to affect a witty tone for some laboured one-liners. Nobody wants to leave the party, because they came to have a good time, but everyone is already kind of tired and mildly irritated. At the end, you feel like you shouldn't have bothered.
That's exactly this book. The fun part of the party is over in the first few pages, when Thompson and his attorney embark on a road trip to Vegas in a car full of drugs. That introduction conveys a sense of excitement, the guys seem to be looking forward to a good time. The rest of the book is the irritated, laboured stage of the party. The guys keep pushing themselves to be manic and devil-may-care, apparently for no reason. Often, their insults and one-liners are grotesquely funny. But they are also hostile and snarling. There's no sense of friendship between them whatsoever.
Frequently, the protagonist tells long, complicated lies (well, more like "yarns," I guess) to various people. This is exactly the part of the party where you're trying to be funny and you keep talking and talking in the hope that, if you're not actually saying anything funny, maybe sheer volume will work. Sometimes it does, and one reads in disbelief, wondering how far Thompson can go.
The book occasionally recalls Kerouac with the road trips and the drugs, but they're taken to extremes, with none of Kerouac's literary name-dropping or his muddled thoughts on enlightenment. Thompson is more honest than Kerouac, in the sense that Thompson's characters casually say and do horrific things (like the scene with the underage artist girl, or the one where Thompson's attorney pulls a knife on the diner owner in North Vegas), without trying to cover up their nastiness with insincere booze-soaked lamentations about the sorrow of life. But that doesn't make Thompson's characters any more appealing, just honestly nasty.
Then again, Thompson's recurring references to the "American Dream" are kind of similar to Kerouac's Buddhism, putting a half-baked intellectual veneer on a trip that had no aim other than doing lots of drugs from the outset. This inspires the most unfunny and laboured part of the party, the dialogue allegedly transcribed directly from a tape recording. Thompson tells some people that he wants to find the American Dream and asks them where it is. A very laborious conversation ensues, it feels that Thompson is trying very hard to be outlandish and unpredictable.
Drugs are the one subject that the main characters are interested in, and possibly the only thing they have in common. They talk about drugs a lot, and Thompson's descriptions also expound in great detail upon the finer points. For instance, when they sneak into a national police conference about drugs: "I suspect we could have done the whole thing on acid...except for some of the people; there were faces...who would have been absolutely unendurable on acid. The sight of...[the faces]...was just barely tolerable on mescaline--which is mainly a sensual/surface drug that exaggerates reality, instead of altering it--but with a head full of acid, the sight...would not be emotionally acceptable." (143) The pedantry is great, he just has to carefully explain that distinction there. Or this one: "Acid is a relatively complex drug, in its effects, while mescaline is pretty simple and straightforward--but in a scene like this, the difference was academic." (144) That whole episode is hilariously pedantic, like the use of the word "academic" to describe drugs. It really is academic!
Thompson goes around ridiculing the clueless cops, because they were "telling each other that 'we must come to terms with the drug culture,' but they had no idea where to start. They couldn't even find the...thing." (144) He repeats this many times, but after all, he doesn't say much about the "drug culture," either. There are a few times when he appears ready to explain the essence of the "drug culture," but he never finishes his thought. It's kind of frustrating -- since he's so pedantic about drugs, and so contemptuous of the clueless cops, you'd figure he might as well go ahead and explain this "culture" for the benefit of the audience. But all that really comes out is his heartfelt regret (possibly the only emotion expressed in the entire book) for the passing of the sixties. It seems that he regrets it so much, that he decides to purposefully dedicate his life to acting out what he believes to be the spirit of that time. It's less clear why he feels that way.
The book is very fast-paced and easy to read, often funny. While you're reading, you'll probably want to finish the whole thing, and you'll laugh at Thompson's creative insults and yarns. But, after I read the book, I have to say, I don't really feel like ever meeting the main characters. |
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 "A classic" | 2008-08-29 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1Y3J1G0KFP4ZX |
| I read this first in college, and then again recently. It's still just as funny and wonderful as ever. |
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| "Great book, unfortunatell i've seen the movie" | 2008-08-04 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1LA21072AR3LX |
Just to be short, this book is great. Unfortunately for me, i've seen the movie for 5 or 6 times before reading it, so the book just felt repetitive. Especially since all the movie is like a quote of the book. Which is great if i wouldn't have seen the movie.
So if you liked the movie, you'll definitely like this book. No surprises there, but some of the blurry situations in the movie are cleared out.
For those who haven't seen the movie, you should read the book first. it makes the movie so much rewarding, and of course, you don't want to miss Hunter S Thompson's great writing skills. He just writes everything the way he thinks and sees (hence the idea of Gonzo journalism). |
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 "A book about the savage journey to the heart of the American Dream!" | 2008-06-14 |
| - Reviewed By User: AOQ2WXQMWQUQD |
Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is one of the most powerful most inspired and most read books off all time. I bought this book after seeing the movie starring Johnny Depp. After reading it I as quite please the the movie version of this novel was pretty well adapted to screen.
If you guys like a book/movie about psychedelics drugs, and a head full of acid this is the book for you.
From a reviewers note, it might be hard reading the whole book in one setting, I spaced mine out. And got more satisfaction with my buck.
Enjoy Hunter S. Thompson fans. This is one book that you if a fan or just a reader don't want to miss. |
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| "A Virgin Jewel" | 2008-06-05 |
| - Reviewed By tfc1112 |
I'm about half way through this story and I don't give a darn how it will end. All I know is that it is one long, twisted, story where everything you expect to happen, doesnt.
The characters are well written and the situations they get into are hillarious.
I can't wait to see where their Great Red Shark will take them next.
"Kill the head and the body will follow."
Thanks |
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| "Old Hippies Don't Die, They Just Get More Pathetic" | 2008-06-03 |
| - Reviewed By User: A24OCKMDRRUOJH |
| I suppose there are basically two ways to summarize this book:(1) Wow! Thompson is this really cool guy who gets wasted all the time and sticks it to the Man whenever he can, or (2) Thompson is a delusional icon of the counterculture, wasting his enormous talent trapped in a self destructive lifestyle. I happen to agree with the latter. Being a child of the Sixties myself, I and many others soon realized that the idealism of "peace, love, and rock and roll", while very nice in theory, didn't work very well in actuality. (Especially while trying to raise a family and earn a living.) Thompson acknowledges this himself in one of his passages, stating that the "High water mark for the hippie movement" had already occurred several years before his current escapades in Las Vegas. However, Thompson seems trapped in the Sixties motif, unable to escape the stereotype of the counterculture hero which he has become. On his ill-fated adventure through Las Vegas, he (and his lawyer) continuously commit acts of antisocial behavior against any and all types of citizenry they come into contact with. Thompson appears to realize that his avant-garde life style is no better, and probably worse, than the bourgeoisie that he is rebelling against. Sadly, he seems powerless to break out of his paranoiac state of drug abuse, even though he knows it's a dead end. Overall, I really enjoyed Thompson's writing style, although I certainly can't condone his behavior. I was hoping that there would be more to the book, but then I realized there couldn't be- the "trip" was over. I would also recommend watching the movie. I found that it complemented the book well. |
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| "What the....?!" | 2008-05-29 |
| - Reviewed By smeyers2 |
| First things, first...the late Mr. Thompson's earlier published book about the Hell's Angels was highly entertaining and informative. Well worth reading. As for "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", well, that's a different story. There are a few funny moments, but for the most part the author and his attorney sidekick just come across as self-absorbed, drug-addled A-holes. The book is kind of like driving by a horrible car accident that you just can't seem to tear your eyes away from looking at the carnage. A potentially useful book if you want to discourage someone from taking drugs. The reader is exposed to a boatload of cruel and irresponsible absurdity. There's nothing remotely romantic or positive about the adventures in this book. Maybe that was the point. |
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| "War and Hate" | 2008-05-19 |
| - Reviewed By User: A36XZQBZHT96NI |
| This book shatters any illusion of what a hippie book should be. Not a drop of peace and love to be found here. Behind the partying and humor, this is a book of profound dissillusionment and cynicism. But Thompson does a good job at not turning it into a bitter rant: he approaches chaos with a wry grin. But if you want Flower Power hippie slogans, forget it. These are gun toting, con artist hippies. And even the drugs don't seem much fun. Poking a hole through stupidity and hypocrisy is the only way these guys still know how to get high. |
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| "Amazing" | 2008-04-17 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3EWOU2TQSS1BU |
| This book changed my view of literature and journalism and reminded me how important individuality is. Hunter S. Thompson, is amongst the best literary minds of his genration. He is able to draw a reader in with detail and inventive use of the english language. |
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| "Oooh really good..." | 2008-04-08 |
| - Reviewed By User: A1PA0IHJADVSDQ |
| Had some issues with delivery (of no fault to Amazons) which were dealt with wonderfully. |
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