Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

"A drug person can learn to cope with things like seeing their dead grandmother crawling up their leg with a knife in her teeth. But no one should be asked to handle this trip."

That quote pretty much sums up this entire book. From the intro until the very last line this books hooks you with such intensity and ferocity that you can't get away. You have to plow through it and hope your mind is still intact when you stumble through to the end. Read with caution! And for the love of God do not be taking drugs or raving drunk when reading this because you may just lose your mind!

"Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" has been on my to read list (and to watch list!) for just about forever so I was more than willing to give it a try this weekend when I went on a roadtrip to Elkhart. The library had an audiobook copy that was only 5 1/2 hours long (perfect!) and was unabridged. I was good to go. The narrator was brilliant and I easily got lost in his voice. The story starts out with Thompson and his attourney getting ready to head to Las Vegas to cover the Mint 400, a motorcycle event. For the trip they make sure to pack enough drugs, booze, and narcotics to kill a herd of elephants. The entire story basically follows them as they lose their minds in the desert and all the crazy shenanigans they get themselves into under the powerful narcotics. It's intense. I've never tried hard drugs and this semi-autobiographical novel cements my decision to never try them.

That being said, Thompson is an amazingly prolific writer and the story flows from one drugged up incident to another with ease. I definitely want to see the movie now, but I think I'll wait on re-reading it. It was pretty damn intense. Great book but definitely not a beach read for the light of heart. Proceed with caution!!!