Reviews - Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

2.68k reviews for:

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Hunter S. Thompson

3.82 AVERAGE

2nosabe's review against another edition

4.0

fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

the_scrivener_named_bartleby's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark funny reflective tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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.

Content Warnings