Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas – DaneCobain.com

Hunter S. Thompson – Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas | Review

Author: Hunter S. Thompson

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 230

Rating: 8/10

Hunter S. Thompson – Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Fear and Loathing is the book which cemented Hunter S. Thompson’s reputation as a writer who challenged authority, by defying traditional laws of both literature and governance. He even created his own genre, called gonzo journalism, albeit presumably accidentally – you get the impression from Fear and Loathing that there’s no definitive destination in mind, and that Thompson just wanted to enjoy the ride.

I won’t go into the story line too much, but we can at least be sure that we’re in for a wild old time in one of the most notorious parts of America, and that there’ll be plenty of booze and drugs along the way. In some ways, it probably helps if you can relate to that lifestyle, but it’s not necessarily a prerequisite.

I quite like Thompson’s work, but I never fell in love with it – for that reason, and for that reason only, I don’t feel justified giving this book anything higher than an eight, but the beauty of it is that everyone seems to perceive it differently. Who knows what you’ll think of it? If you want to find out then the best thing to do is to read it – it’s a modern classic, after all.

Hunter S. Thompson

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Hunter S. Thompson – The Rum Diary | Review

Title: The Rum Diary

Author: Hunter S. Thompson

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 214

Rating: 8/10

Hunter S. Thompson – The Rum Diary

The Rum Diary tells the heartwarming and tragic tale of the adventures of journalist Paul Kemp in Puerto Rico, where he works at the Daily News by day and drinks rum at Al’s by night. Of course, there’s a woman involved, and the novel is also home to its fair share of institutionalised corruption – a very Thompson topic.

The author is better known as the writer of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and while his style is similar here in some ways, it’s also a little different – little touches, and the idiosyncrasies of some of the characters, make this a much more traditional novel, even though it’s still far from it.

It’s a strong recommendation from me, particularly if you’ve already read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and if you’re a fan of Graham Greene, Ernest Hemingway and other writers of that era – Thompson’s style here reminds me a little of that, and it’s interesting to note that even though he sounds wiser here, it was written before Fear and Loathing, although it wasn’t actually released until 1998. I like a book with a story behind it, and you should too.