Gonzo leaves the text, which is more often than I remembered, things sort of lag. Thompson capably brings this creature to life whenever Dr. Gonzo (though usually just referred to as “my attorney”). Thompson’s friend, lawyer Oscar Acosta, was transformed into a 300-pound Samoan named Dr. The book was originally serialized in two installments of Rolling Stone, under the by-line “Raoul Duke.” This is the character who narrates the story, and of course it’s clearly Thompson himself to make sure we get the in-joke, “Duke” occasionally refers to Thompson in a negative way. I guess the main difference is that Boy Wonder doesn’t make any pretensions toward being “nonfiction,” and also it actually has female characters in it Fear And Loathing keeps the focus pretty much squarely on the two psychopathic “heroes,” Raoul Duke and his lawyer, Dr. Both novels even sort of lag a bit in the second half, before ramping back up on the insanity. And there’s a sort of similarity between the two both books feature psychotic, delusional protagonists, copious amounts of drugs, and a willingness to take things past the limit. This though has nothing to do with the entertainment value of the book, which is through the roof – the only other novel that’s ever made me laugh so much is James Robert Baker’s Boy Wonder. He was a “doctor of journalism,” after all. But again, perhaps this was Thompson’s intention. This renders the entire stated theme moot. They’re not bigots, or racists, or whatever, they’re just normal people who happen to be in Las Vegas and who are bullied, hassled, or harrassed by our two main characters. I can’t stress this enough – the people who encounter our loony protagonists are all presented as level-headed, even the cops in the second half of the book. It’s especially a problem when every single character they meet is normal. Which is all well and good, but the only problem is, if you’re going to criticize something, it’s probably best not to do it via a pair of drug-blitzed psychopaths who have no grasp on reality. If indeed there is a theme I should give him the benefit of the doubt.īut the subtitle “A Savage Journey To The Heart Of The American Dream” seems to be on the level, the book apparently intended as Thompson’s indictment of the screwed-up American mentality of the post-Altamont Nixon era. I enjoyed it nearly as much this time, with the caveat that it’s a much different experience reading Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas when you’re 45 years old – it seemed darkly hilarious when I was 23, but this time I saw the gaping problems with Thompson’s entire theme. This is one of those books that’s stuck with me over the years, and given my recurring interest in early issues of Rolling Stone Magazine I thought I should finally read it again. I first read Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas in the summer of 1997, after discovering this now-scarce Popular Library edition on a Half Price Books “clearance spinner rack” for a whopping twenty-five cents. Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas, by Hunter S.
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