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Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (平装)
by Hunter S. Thompson
| Category:
Fiction |
| Market price: ¥ 148.00
MSL price:
¥ 138.00
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| Stock:
Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
A book about a weekend in Las Vegas full of drug-induced debauchery, Fear and Loathing is brilliantly written and consistenly entertaining. |
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AllReviews |
  1 2 Total 2 pages 12 items |
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A reviewer (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-05 00:00>
This book will always be my favorite. How often will you ever pick up a book and find yourself laughing out loud? That's what Hunter did and we are all forever grateful. He is missed. It was a brilliant sociological - or perhaps pathological - tear across the fabric of its era. But the thing is, it works just as well today. Well-written sentences are well-written sentences. There are few writers who have hit those heights. I found Alan Weisbecker, of Cosmic Bandito fame, to be great fun but not the same thing. I also came across a writer recently going by the name of Python Bonkers, who did a take on that Frey memoir with a book called A Million Little Pieces of Feces. Also, not the same as Mr. Duke, the master, but it was the closest thing to the Vegas book that I've ever come across, in terms of making you laugh. Sort of like the Los Angeles version of a gonzo journalist's adventures. (On the cover it says it is the "Great Gatsby of Hallucinating Tractor Journalists Books." Take if from there.) Of course, Douglas Adams, who wrote the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy books, also died before his time - and he could make you laugh out loud. But, this Vegas book is Thompson's masterpiece and highly recommended. Secondarily, I think the Campaign Trail book has its moments, but I sure wished he could have focused on one topic and taken another trip to Vegas or, well, anywhere. |
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Craig Harrison (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-05 00:00>
With Hunter S Thompson's death, I found myself intrigued with his work and reread Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Sadly, unlike many books I read 25-40 years ago, this one does not stand the test of time. If timelessness is a hallmark of great literature, this one is surely not "great." I can't imagine it will be read much in the future, unlike work by Hemingway, Steinbeck, Faulkner or F. Scott Fitzgerald. It seems incredibly dated, full of allusions to events in the 1970s that later readers will not understand (e.g.,lyrics of obscure Bob Dylan songs; asides about former vice president Spiro Agnew).
There is barely a plot. Most of the drug-taking episodes are ridiculously exaggerated. His world view is a litany of jibes or jokes about ordinary Americans (tourists in Las Vegas, cops at a drug convention) and red necks that are caricatures whose insightfulness cannot be matched simply by googling "red neck jokes." Thompson's world view is designed to make college-educated drug takers feel superior to regular folks.
To the extent Thompson is glorifying the "drug culture," the book makes a strong argument for cracking down on people who take a lot of drugs. At various times the drug-crazed Raoul Duke or his attorney (1) scare an elderly hotel maid into thinking she is about to be shot with a magnum simply for coming into their hotel room to clean it; (2) scare a waitress into thinking her throat is about to be slit because she objected to an obscene comment; (3) and are on the verge of raping a 17 year old. I suppose my funny bone has gone missing on that sort of thing.
Thompson can parse a phrase and the first few pages are full of wonderful descriptions. But I have to wonder whether his notoriety is really deserved (no doubt egged on by his constant appearances in Doonesbury). Maybe his passing was just a reminder for the me generation that our days are numbered.
Just a simple contrast. Hemingway in his day became legendary, at least among men, for his lifestyle. But he actually did write some damned great books.
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