Paul's review
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream
by Hunter S. Thompson
This may come as a complete surprise to you, but this book has absolutely NOTHING to do with the eighties.
Yeah, I got it. I don't know anyone from the 1960s. My own father was only 10 years old at the end of the 60s. I say that it has the eighties written all over based on his and his brothers' experiences that I have had the pleasure of hearing over the years. The reckless abandon exhibited by Duke and his attorney is pretty ferocious. I have heard stories of his friends' young adulthood [maybe he was there, maybe not--I prefer to not know actually] involving such activities as "snorting lines of coke off of a hooker's boobies," or "getting my ass kicked by some random dude that I called a hillbilly in a 7-11 in South Carolina."
I cannot relate to the story. It's not Mr. Thompson's fault, it's just not as timeless as people make it out to be. Even when I try to interpret it as a timeless piece (the eighties comment), the first thing out of someone's mouth is that "it has NOTHING to do with the eighties." Point in case I suppose.
I have been to the miserable town of Barstow (no offense of course) and have driven that long stretch of highway between Fort Irwin (NTC) and Las Vegas. I was able to relate to that drive from the beginning of the book. That in and of itself was a unique and borderline surreal trip. I always felt that if someone wanted to disappear, that was the place to do it. I would have to go somewhere a little bigger--maybe Victorville.
So, John, my apologies. I just re-read my review and it leaves plenty of room for making me look like a complete douche. I will fix it.
Paul's review
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream by Hunter S. Thompson
Paul's review
rating:
recommended for: People who think that the "counter-culture" of drugs and violence was a bulwark of the mid-1900s
I really disliked this book and I felt awful about feeling that way. It is a cult classic and was a representation of the American Dream at its best and worked. But I hated it.
The story is all well and good, but I do not associate the American life that I have led as a gross misuse of enjoyment or a bender or excess. Maybe I am too young for this book. It had many of the themes attributed to the 1980s that I had heard in stories, but I was just a pup even for those times.
Admittedly, I may have dabbled in some illicit activity in my youth. There may have been some Jamaican lamb's wool smoked at lunchtime in the boys' bathroom or perhaps a stolen road sign or two. But I cannot in good conscience legitimize the horrible activities in this book. Not for a whole book at least. That kind of maniacal, out of control behavior to me should be ephemeral at the most. I actually got bored with the raucous protagonist and his cohort. Too much of a "good" thing is still just that:...more
The story is all well and good, but I do not associate the American life that I have led as a gross misuse of enjoyment or a bender or excess. Maybe I am too young for this book. It had many of the themes attributed to the 1980s that I had heard in stories, but I was just a pup even for those times.
Admittedly, I may have dabbled in some illicit activity in my youth. There may have been some Jamaican lamb's wool smoked at lunchtime in the boys' bathroom or perhaps a stolen road sign or two. But I cannot in good conscience legitimize the horrible activities in this book. Not for a whole book at least. That kind of maniacal, out of control behavior to me should be ephemeral at the most. I actually got bored with the raucous protagonist and his cohort. Too much of a "good" thing is still just that:...more
This may come as a complete surprise to you, but this book has absolutely NOTHING to do with the eighties.
Yeah, I got it. I don't know anyone from the 1960s. My own father was only 10 years old at the end of the 60s. I say that it has the eighties written all over based on his and his brothers' experiences that I have had the pleasure of hearing over the years. The reckless abandon exhibited by Duke and his attorney is pretty ferocious. I have heard stories of his friends' young adulthood [maybe he was there, maybe not--I prefer to not know actually] involving such activities as "snorting lines of coke off of a hooker's boobies," or "getting my ass kicked by some random dude that I called a hillbilly in a 7-11 in South Carolina." I cannot relate to the story. It's not Mr. Thompson's fault, it's just not as timeless as people make it out to be. Even when I try to interpret it as a timeless piece (the eighties comment), the first thing out of someone's mouth is that "it has NOTHING to do with the eighties." Point in case I suppose.
I have been to the miserable town of Barstow (no offense of course) and have driven that long stretch of highway between Fort Irwin (NTC) and Las Vegas. I was able to relate to that drive from the beginning of the book. That in and of itself was a unique and borderline surreal trip. I always felt that if someone wanted to disappear, that was the place to do it. I would have to go somewhere a little bigger--maybe Victorville.
So, John, my apologies. I just re-read my review and it leaves plenty of room for making me look like a complete douche. I will fix it.