~ Guest Reviewer ~ Wattle at Whimsical Nature
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
by Hunter S. Thompson
Narrated by Ron McLarty
Rating: 2/5
~ Synopsis ~
In Las Vegas to cover a motorcycle race, Raoul Duke (Thompson) and his attorney Dr. Gonzo (inspired by a friend of Thompson) are quickly diverted to search for the American dream. Their quest is fueled by nearly every drug imaginable and quickly becomes a surreal experience that blurs the line between reality and fantasy. But there is more to this hilarious tale than reckless behavior, for underneath the hallucinogenic facade is a stinging criticism of American greed and consumerism.
~ Review ~
I’ve been to Las Vegas
exactly once, I thought it was a bit odd, a bit dirty and not a place I would
like to spend any considerable amount of time in.
I
felt similar things toward this book. I’ve tried to read it before in
paperback, and I put it down after five pages or so. I have seen the film and
hated it; so when I saw this on my list for review I was a little worried.
Rightly
so, it turns out.
I
opted to listen to the audiobook in the hope that I would find it more engaging
than if it were text. Ron McLarty did a wonderful job with the narration, I
really liked listening to him, but Fear
and Loathing in Las Vegas was such a tedious story. The 6 hours I spent
listening to it felt like 6 years.
This
story is meant to be hilarious and surreal. I think I laughed once, and it was
more of a derisive snort than actual laughter. I’m still not entirely sure what
the point of the book was, there was such excess and stupidity and vastly
irresponsible behavior.
If
it was trying to teach me a lesson, I failed to see it (unless that lesson was
- don’t do drugs). The characters were all unlikeable; the story felt like it
was just a rambling bunch of sentences thrown together with little direction.
The content was definitely not for me (I don’t even drink, so the characters
desire to be constantly wasted was beyond me), I felt the casualness of their
drug taking and ridiculous behavior in general was more worrying than amusing.
I
gave it two stars, 1.5 for the narration (which was really very good) and 0.5
for the work itself – it was much too far out of my comfort zone and just a bit
too strange for me to get into. A pity, because I think if it had been written
in a different way, it would have been a much more engaging work.
The United States of Books the State of Nevada
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