Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream

I've read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas a few times, starting first in high school, few years later in college, and then recently now. The first time I read it, I thought it was funny, zany, and wild. The second time, the enjoyment is half taken away. Now, it's a dreadful read. Certainly Hunter S. Thompson has style, but Tom Wolfe jots it more stylishly than Thompson does. Secondly, there is a certain feel that embodies Gonzo Journalism, so that makes him more or less a unique reporter. Yet the problem with his books, the readabilitylo of his books for seconds suffers greatly because of the boredom factor. Same thing goes as well for his '72: Fear and Loathing on Campaign Trail. The first hundred pages of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas gets me started off well and then it becomes a dogfight in the last, especially the final thirty, hundred pages in order to keep my eyes open from powerful need to sleep. As for the content of the book, some passages are sometimes incoherent, and Thompson is mind-numbingly insensitive to people around him, preferring to treat them, most notably the women, as objects. Several times, he speaks of gang-rape of one drug-induced young female probably fresh out of high school, and another time, he witnesses his friend who brutally terrorizes a waitress in some decrepit diner by flashing his large knife after being turned down for sex. There are bunch of drug references as Thompson, whether for glorification or adoration, abuses drugs to push his body to the limit. He has this thinking that he is above the people surrounding him and that entails him to do whatever he pleases. Oftentimes than not, he gets away with the crap he pulls along with his lawyer. That sounds like the attitude of a twelve year old spoiled rich brat who thinks that the world revolves around her. When I am reading this drivel, I can't help but think of a couple of things. One, I've got a cousin who started drugs during 80's in high school. He did a stint in state prison for a year for drug related charges. Today, he is in 40's and looks a lot more like a 70 year old man suffering from Hepatitis C. Every year that passes, his facial looks gain a decade. Another cousin I have, same path but he is in late 20's, has probably the mind of a mental **tarded person even though he was born of normal intelligence. I'm sure Dr. Amen can scan his brain and find more black holes on it than a month old rotten grapefruit. Also, his brother died of drug overdose at a young age. Their parents were normal, hardworking members of society. Another thing I am thinking of is the poor people who work at menial jobs, have no money to live above their sustenance, and struggle to make ends meet. You ask me, do I think that Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is an enjoyable book no matter how degrading it is? Of course, some person will protest in defiance: "It's only a book." I guess so.r

Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is one of the most powerful most inspired and most read books off all time. I bought this book after seeing the movie starring Johnny Depp. After reading it I as quite please the the movie version of this novel was pretty well adapted to screen.

If you guys like a book/movie about psychedelics drugs, and a head full of acid this is the book for you.

From a reviewers note, it might be hard reading the whole book in one setting, I spaced mine out. And got more satisfaction with my buck.

Enjoy Hunter S. Thompson fans. This is one book that you if a fan or just a reader don't want to miss.

I'm about half way through this story and I don't give a darn how it will end. All I know is that it is one long, twisted, story where everything you expect to happen, doesnt.
The characters are well written and the situations they get into are hillarious.
I can't wait to see where their Great Red Shark will take them next.

"Kill the head and the body will follow."


Thanks

I suppose there are basically two ways to summarize this book:(1) Wow! Thompson is this really cool guy who gets wasted all the time and sticks it to the Man whenever he can, or (2) Thompson is a delusional icon of the counterculture, wasting his enormous talent trapped in a self destructive lifestyle. I happen to agree with the latter. Being a child of the Sixties myself, I and many others soon realized that the idealism of "peace, love, and rock and roll", while very nice in theory, didn't work very well in actuality. (Especially while trying to raise a family and earn a living.) Thompson acknowledges this himself in one of his passages, stating that the "High water mark for the hippie movement" had already occurred several years before his current escapades in Las Vegas. However, Thompson seems trapped in the Sixties motif, unable to escape the stereotype of the counterculture hero which he has become. On his ill-fated adventure through Las Vegas, he (and his lawyer) continuously commit acts of antisocial behavior against any and all types of citizenry they come into contact with. Thompson appears to realize that his avant-garde life style is no better, and probably worse, than the bourgeoisie that he is rebelling against. Sadly, he seems powerless to break out of his paranoiac state of drug abuse, even though he knows it's a dead end. Overall, I really enjoyed Thompson's writing style, although I certainly can't condone his behavior. I was hoping that there would be more to the book, but then I realized there couldn't be- the "trip" was over. I would also recommend watching the movie. I found that it complemented the book well.

First things, first...the late Mr. Thompson's earlier published book about the Hell's Angels was highly entertaining and informative. Well worth reading. As for "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", well, that's a different story. There are a few funny moments, but for the most part the author and his attorney sidekick just come across as self-absorbed, drug-addled A-holes. The book is kind of like driving by a horrible car accident that you just can't seem to tear your eyes away from looking at the carnage. A potentially useful book if you want to discourage someone from taking drugs. The reader is exposed to a boatload of cruel and irresponsible absurdity. There's nothing remotely romantic or positive about the adventures in this book. Maybe that was the point.