Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
by Hunter S. Thompson

Number of Pages: 224
Published 1998
Published by: Vintage Paperbacks
Genre: adventure

“Right next to me a huge reptile was gnawing on a woman’s neck, the carpet was a blood-soaked sponge-impossible to walk on it, no footing at all. ‘Order some golf shoes,” I whispered. “Otherwise, we’ll never get out of this place alive. You notice these lizards don’t have any trouble moving around in this muck-that’s because they have claws on their feet.’” Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas grabs you by the collar and drags you through the fastest and strangest few days a pair of men could have. Hunter S. Thompson leads you into the heart of the drug era of the 1960’s. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is one of the most fast-paced, hilarious and bizarre books I have ever read. Try, if you can, to fathom two grown men, a writer, with his doctorate in journalism, and his a 300 pound Samoan attorney, Dr. Gonzo, both high on acid driving in a large red convertible into Las Vegas convinced that a swarm of bats are following them. These men drive from Los Angeles to Las Vegas to report on the Mint 400, a motorcycle race being held in Las Vegas>. With their three hundred dollar bursary they purchase an enormous amount of dangerous drugs. “We had two bags of grass, seventy-five pellets of mescaline, five sheets of high-powered blotter acid, a salt shaker of cocaine and a whole galaxy of multicoloured uppers, downers, screamers, laughers… also a quart of tequila, a quart of rum, a case of Budweiser, a pint of raw ether and two dozen amyls.” The two men stay in a luxurious hotel where they manage to destroy the room and leave without paying the bill. Instead of leaving the state they ironically go to another Las Vegas hotel to cover a conference on narcotics and dangerous drugs. With the trunk of their car resembling a mobile police narcotics lab the two check into the Flamingo hotel to report on the conference and this experience is even worse than the Mint 400.

"A bad trip” would be a kind way to describe the extreme paranoia, hallucinations, rage and fear these men experience throughout these few days. Sections of this novel will make you so irritated and disoriented you will think you have taken a drug. The two men would drink and take acid while driving down the sunset strip of Las Vegas. This is totally insane; it is a miracle that the two do not crash their car into oncoming traffic or pedestrians There are incidents in this book that will leave you with your mouth wide open, but also make you laugh out loud. Dr. Gonzo eats the remainder of their acid and is sitting in a bathtub full of green water. He asks his friend to throw the tape recorder into the tub when the singer reaches the highest note of the song. It is scenes like this that are so intense and uncomfortable but you cannot help but read on.  The truly hilarious thing about this book is the manner in which Thompson is able to turn their misfortune around. It appears that these two can get away with almost anything without getting caught. A police officer pulls the journalist over when he is speeding on the highway leaving Las Vegas; he is drinking a beer while driving and doesn’t even try and hide it. The police officer is so shocked by his behavior he tells him to go sleep at a rest stop two miles down the road. It is situations like these where you cannot help but laugh at the fortune of these two men. Although I am unsure if Thompson intends for them to be humorous  or tragic as there are situations which are very illegal and inappropriate.   

Bookhooks report by R. Fichter of Ontario, Canada
R. Fichter rates this book: 5/5 - The Best!
Word Count = 761 words
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