Fear and Loathing by Hunter S. Thompson

“There he goes. One of God’s own prototypes. A high-powered mutant of some kind never even considered for mass production. Too weird to live, and too rare to die.” ~ Raoul Duke

This quote epitomizes the way I feel about this book. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson is a drug crazed freedom rocking thrill ride that will leave you gasping for air and clawing out your eyes at the end of chapters. Hunter S. Thompson takes the reader on a bender so bending you can’t wrap your mind around it. It is one of the few cases in which I recommend seeing the accompanying movie.  (Either version, Depp or Murray is fine. Both have their admirable qualities.)

Thompson’s prose is addictive. Once trapped by his ‘utterly impossible these days set up’, the reader finds themselves kept ‘nose in’ by the captivatingly sharp dialogue and perpetual drug use. The book is surprisingly cohesive for a tale about a 2 week drug trip save for the chapter about a man and a house and some LSD. It is only a one chapter theme, in which the person in question is not identified. I however believe the man may be Dr. Timothy Leary.

The side characters are just as interesting as the main. A hotel waiter midget, a first trip christian Barbara Streisand nut, the photographer who is just too friendly. All these characters make the text evermore perched on the edge, and it is as if you are waiting to fall off a cliff or soar up above it when you read this book.

Great read. Man.

Worth a look even if you’re not a day tripper.

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Vintage; 2nd edition (May 12, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679785892
• Amazon Link