Best book of the dope decade
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This novel is a classic of American Literature in the same right as Moby Dick, The Catcher in the Rye, and countless others. True, it's not appreciated by everyone, but neither was and is Moby Dick. This is definitely a baroque classic too, and it was groundbreaking in its own time (which it may not be anymore, logically, but that's not all the book is about, far from that). "America... just a nation of two hundred million used car salesmen with all the money we need to buy guns and no qualms about killing anybody else in the world who tries to make us uncomfortable."
Some say there is no real plot to this book; much the same can be and was said about Moby Dick. I won't deny that, but I will point out that not all books are about "plots" and that there is always a plot, no matter how minimal or nonsensical it gets. A trip to nowhere without any clear direction in search of the American Dream ("Buy the ticket, take the ride"), what do you expect? A clear plot with obvious twists and the likes? Of course not.
That book is fun, disturbing, daring ("when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro"), and much deeper and serious than it may appear to the shallow reader. Definitely worth it, and definitely classic. Wandering around the still smoking embers of the Fallen Dream with Hunter S. Thompson is an experience you don't want to miss..."I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they've always worked for me."
Dr. Thompson's words may be a little harsh at times, but the feelings they invoke are highly entertaining and priceless in their own accord. In short, if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. "You can turn your back on a person, but never turn your back on a drug, especially when its waving a razor sharp hunting knife in your eye."
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United States | 
United Kingdom | 
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