A review by vimcenzo
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson

adventurous dark funny reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is like an explosion in your hands. Honestly, it's like finding a water stain in the shape of Jesus's face; it's art, but not one that was carefully crafted or that even has an artist commanding it. Through Thompson, an eye-searing account of the failing American Dream and the darkness present in every human soul is given flesh through words, and this deserves as close a reading as any classic--if this book is not considered already by enough people to be a classic.

If you came here from the movie, I will say that this is a much less sympathetic view on thompson, who's been mythologized by the Depp portrayal and countless parodies and becoming a pop-culture icon. However, it just makes the book more unflinchingly honest.

The foreword has no influence on the score, but I need to acknowledge it because of that: It was written by a troglodyte with no understanding of the content they were prefacing. Just some desperate caterwauling for relevance that wasted the world's collective time.
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