Well, I think I’ve read it all now. Hunter S Thompson has always intrigued me as a writer but I’d never gotten around to picking up one of his books, until now. Although having seen both film versions of Where the Buffalos Roam and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas I thought I would be prepared. Of course you’ll probably know if you’ve read this book that really nothing can prepare you for the sheer insanity of this book. And let me tell you this book is a very impressive experience. I say experience with all confidence too, because there’s no way you can read this novel and not be just flabbergasted at Thompson’s rampaging roller coaster lifestyle. Simply put, it is an incredible look at a few days in the life of a deranged and brilliant man.
We meet Thompson or (Dr Raoul Duke – Thompsons alias throughout most of the book) as he drives along the highway from LA to Vegas to cover the Mint 400 motorcycle race for a magazine with his trusted Samoan attorney. But this is definitely not your ordinary business vacation to Las Vegas. This is gonzo journalism at its finest; and these two friends are about to abuse every drug known to man and break every rule imaginable in the next crazed few days. The most insane aspect of this book? Its all true. Thompson lived a lifestyle most people could never in their wildest dreams (or for some perhaps nightmares) imagine.
These men commit some pretty heinous crimes, almost kill a few people, recklessly endanger themselves and countless others, and generally speaking bring mayhem everywhere they go. All the time on a serious drug binge. I’m a little bit surprised that anyone could handle all the drugs purportedly taken by these two over their trip, but hey it was the sixties, from what I understand drugs were a lot weaker back then (before the serious chemical engineering started up). These guys get into mescaline, acid, pot, hash, arnyls (which I’ve never heard of), assorted uppers and downers, cocaine, ether, extract of an adrenal gland, cases of beers, tequila, and many other drinks. At least those are the one I can remember off the top of my head. Really, these guys did everything they could get their hands on. I’m honestly surprised they didn’t bring some heroin and peyote along and completely run the gamut. Regardless, these guys spend some wild times and get into a lot of trouble, drag racing up and down the strip, abusing locals, tourists, and police, trashing a number of hotel rooms, bars and, casinos, and generally speaking following every crazy whim of their drug addled minds.
But at the end of the day that’s really not what this book is about. Yes it is an accounting of some pretty crazy events, it is so fantastic and absurd made all the more so by the fact that it really happened, and it’s a strange window into the deranged hallucinatory reality of a brilliant writer. But it’s also a lot more than that; this book is like a reality check to Timothy Leary’s 1960s. It’s a hard look at a change of perception in the counterculture movement. Thompson has an insight into a lifestyle that is both engrossing and frightening. Maybe more importantly though he knows how present his thoughts with relative poise and clarity, be they drug induced or not.
I really enjoyed this book on the whole. Often times my entertainment was derived simply from wanting to know how these drugged up cowboys were going to top the insanity of whatever they done last, but it was also from the sharp look at a degenerate city, a degenerate culture, and a degenerate lifestyle. This book isn’t a masterpiece by any means, but it sure as hell is a wild ride, and it’s always entertaining.
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