A review by jentang
The Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson

5.0

this book follows around an alcoholic journalist doing essentially nothing with his life, all while making a plethora of observations that are vaguely holden-esque. it's no surprise that there isn't much of a plot, although that isn't to say that nothing ever happens - the sequence of events in this story is hardly unremarkable, and i'll admit i expected far less from this story when i was beginning to read. the side characters in this book, while many, were all distinctive and contributed to the story. there was action, imagery, and pondering. something to note: the novel is largely dominated by drunk male presences. this made reading range from intriguing to irritating to downright infuriating for me, given that if there's one thing i detest in writing it's a prominent male gaze. if you are the type of reader who needs at least one realistically written perspective of a woman to get through a book, this one may not be for you. however, for all that this gritty story lacked, i felt that i gained connection with it and the mildly unhappy residents of San Juan.