/lit/ - Literature

[Anonymous No.11023942]

Who can even stomach this shit?

[Anonymous No.11023949]

>>11023942
>thread will be hidden in 3...2...1...

[Anonymous No.11023960]

>>11023942
Whats the problem?

[Anonymous No.11024017]

It's objectively an important and influential book, what the fuck is your problem OP.

[Anonymous No.11024022]

Are you old enough to use this website?

[Anonymous No.11024025]

>>11023942
The story is pretty interesting, and his prose is nice enough. What didn't you like about it OP?

[Anonymous No.11024098]

>>11023960
>>11024017
>>11024025
reading this after moby dick is disgusting

[Anonymous No.11024108]

>>11024098
don't be such a fucking literary snob

[Anonymous No.11024121]

>>11024098
>why don't realism and gonzo journalism have the same affected style?
Wow.

[Anonymous No.11024135]

An example of a book where the film is better.

[Anonymous No.11024153]

Last time this thread was up I said that I still have mine sitting on the floor under my bed. It has one of those stickers where it says "read and pass it along", still haven't read it. Perhaps I should drop it off somewhere? Where are places to leave a book in public where it won't rot or get weathered /lit/?

[Anonymous No.11024156]

>>11024135
But that's wrong

[Anonymous No.11024201]

>>11024156
It's not. It's a unique but ultimately mediocre book and an above average movie.

[Anonymous No.11024250]

>>11023942
Anyone looking for some gonzo-ass fun, with the occasional thoughtful moment reflecting on the death of the 60s?

“Strange memories on this nervous night in Las Vegas. Five years later? Six? It seems like a lifetime, or at least a Main Era—the kind of peak that never comes again. San Francisco in the middle sixties was a very special time and place to be a part of. Maybe it meant something. Maybe not, in the long run . . . but no explanation, no mix of words or music or memories can touch that sense of knowing that you were there and alive in that corner of time and the world. Whatever it meant. . . .

History is hard to know, because of all the hired bullshit, but even without being sure of “history” it seems entirely reasonable to think that every now and then the energy of a whole generation comes to a head in a long fine flash, for reasons that nobody really understands at the time—and which never explain, in retrospect, what actually happened.

My central memory of that time seems to hang on one or five or maybe forty nights—or very early mornings—when I left the Fillmore half-crazy and, instead of going home, aimed the big 650 Lightning across the Bay Bridge at a hundred miles an hour wearing L. L. Bean shorts and a Butte sheepherder's jacket . . . booming through the Treasure Island tunnel at the lights of Oakland and Berkeley and Richmond, not quite sure which turn-off to take when I got to the other end (always stalling at the toll-gate, too twisted to find neutral while I fumbled for change) . . . but being absolutely certain that no matter which way I went I would come to a place where people were just as high and wild as I was: No doubt at all about that. . . .

There was madness in any direction, at any hour. If not across the Bay, then up the Golden Gate or down 101 to Los Altos or La Honda. . . . You could strike sparks anywhere. There was a fantastic universal sense that whatever we were doing was right, that we were winning. . . .

And that, I think, was the handle—that sense of inevitable victory over the forces of Old and Evil. Not in any mean or military sense; we didn’t need that. Our energy would simply prevail. There was no point in fighting—on our side or theirs. We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave. . . .

So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look West, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark—that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back.”

[Anonymous No.11024564]

>>11023942
Stomach in what way? The quality of writing or the subject matter?

[Anonymous No.11024567]

>>11023942
>Gravity's Rainbow Lite

[Anonymous No.11024618]

>>11024135

[Anonymous No.11024665]

>>11024153
My city has tons of little libraries which house books and act as book sharing services. Maybe google to see if where you live has that? Otherwise some bars/pubs have a library built in.

[Anonymous No.11024675]

>>11024250
Classic passage

[Anonymous No.11024683]

>>11024250
really makes you wish you were there. I wonder how it compares to the adderall fueled ultracorporate silicon valley that's sort of replaced the bay area now. Anytime I'm there these days it all just feels like an overpopulated tech city, taken to the nth degree.

[Anonymous No.11024757]

BASED Attorney.

Best part is when the Attorney is in the bathtub tripping the fuck out and wants Raoul to throw the Radio in the tub when the song climaxes.

[Anonymous No.11024813]

>>11024098
I mean, clearly Moby Dick is the much greater literary work, yes. This is why Melville is contender for greatest American author and Moby Dick as great American novel, but Thompson and this book are not often mentioned in this regard. It’s still leagues above something like Harry Potter. Wouldn’t be surprised if Thompson isn’t much remembered/studied a hundred years from now, though.

[Anonymous No.11024832]

>>11024813
>It’s still leagues above something like Harry Potter.

[Anonymous No.11024834]

>>11024250
gay, sounds like Kerouac (who's shit btw)

[Anonymous No.11025015]

>>11024250
Sounds fucking gay and annoying to read

Degenerate ass loser

[Anonymous No.11025060]

>>11024250
This always gives me the vibe of someone romanticizing their youth and people JO over it because it was part of an already overly romanticized period.

[Anonymous No.11025101]

I can't call it a perfect book, but that's only because it's so much more than just a book. Go ahead and argue and post until you are blue in the face, it will not change the sheer gravity of this work.

[Anonymous No.11025134]

>>11024834
>>11025015
>>11025060
post something you've written

[Anonymous No.11025201]

>>11025134
My right to an opinion is guaranteed by the constitution of Denmark

[Anonymous No.11025217]

>>11024250
>All those good-loving heads… they’ve been having quite a time for themselves… a summer of euphoria, the millennium, in fact, LSD and hundreds of beautiful people already on the scene, and no more little games. They would just spread out like a wave over the world and end all the bull-shit, drown it in love and awareness, and nothing could stop them. I’ll have to hand it to the heads. They really want to end the little games. Their hearts are pure. I never found more than one or two cynics or hustlers among them. But now that the moment is at hand, everyone is wondering …
Hmmmmmmm … who is going to lead the way and hold the light? Then just one little game starts, known as politics… Hmmmmm … As I say, their hearts are pure!
Nevertheless, Chet Helms and the Family Dog have their thing, Bill Graham has his thing, the Grateful Dead have theirs, the Diggers have theirs, the Calliope Company have theirs, Bowen has his, even Gary Goldhill… It’s a little like the socialist movement in New York after World War I—the Revolution is imminent, as all know and agree, and yet, Christ, everybody and his brother has a manifesto, the Lovestonites, the Dubinsky Socialists, the CPUSA (Bolshevik), the Wobblies, everybody has his own typewriters and mimeograph machines and they’re all cranking away like mad and fuming over each other’s mistranslations of the Message …

-The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test

Seems a very similar passage to me, I'd recommend the whole book for a contemporary view of what Thompson was looking back at.

[Anonymous No.11025218]

>>11024153
Usually inside a cafe or coffeeshop works well. Anyplace where you can just leave it on a stack of reading material also works (waiting rooms)

[Anonymous No.11025983]

>the gonzo tapes
>even mentioning this disgusting pervert

His book is boring trash

[Anonymous No.11026085]

>>11023942
Haven't read the book but the movie is one of my favourites.

[Anonymous No.11026108]

grug likes to take lsd and drik whiskee

[Anonymous No.11026111]

>>11025217
wolfe wrote a second-hand summary of other people's memories and stylized it as if it was first-hand. in fact wolfe's main source for the infamous la honda biker/hippie drug orgy is thompson, who was actually there and described it in his hell's angels book. wolfe is still worth reading but don't under any circumstances assume that you're getting an unadulterated contemporary perspective - if anything it's more of a romanticized fiction than thompson's recollections which are highly subjective but at least first-hand.

[Anonymous No.11026126]

>>11025060
This. The book has nothing to offer for a person who doesn't idolize the period and white American culture.

[Anonymous No.11026274]

>>11026126
idolizing 60s california is required to appreciate a book that has like one page of recollections about 60s california...? it's almost as if you never actually read it and were just making shit up to pretend to have an opinion

[Anonymous No.11026351]

>>11026126
The book is highly critical of that culture and lifestyle. If anything it shows that free love is all bullshit and that the whole hippie movement was really just a reason for a bunch of white kids to get addicted to drugs.

[Anonymous No.11026528]

>>11025060
Have you read the thing? No, he's sure as hell not idolizing it.
The book is a bitter comment on how deluded they all were, and how it all turned to shit. Fear and Loathing is mocking the American Dreams on both sides. Look at the ending. Kerouac attempted to “test the American dream by trying to pin down its promise of unlimited freedom by following the example of Dean Moriarty”. Kesey strove to “claim whatever he can rightly get by being man enough to take it” because there “is no limit to the American trip”. But driving on the outskirts of Las Vegas in 1972, Thompson seems to have finally nailed down the exact location of the American Dream, what the counterculturalists had been looking for all along—“Big black building, right on Paradise: twenty-four-hour-a-day violence, drugs”—yes, unlimited freedom and consumption (Thompson 167). In a seven-page chapter towards the end of Fear and Loathing, Thompson’s narrative reporting breaks down and we are left with an editor’s note introducing us to a “verbatim” tape recording of Thompson and his attorney as they question some locals on the whereabouts of “the American Dream”. Through this, they are led to a seedy joint called the “Old Psychiatrist’s Club” that had “burned down about three years ago”. This section encapsulates what Thompson believes to be the empty promise of the American Dream, one that is plagued by corruption and sinister greed.

[Anonymous No.11026561]

>>11025015
>unironically calls someone a degenerate outside of poltard

[Anonymous No.11026644]

>>11026528
>>11026351
what the fuck "american dream" even mean, i am not burger btw

[Anonymous No.11026658]

>The wave chapter
None of you passed the pleb filter. Go back and read it again

[Anonymous No.11026791]

>>11026644
>the american dream
i was took it to mean one could find personal success, happiness, and freedom, by any means one wants in America, as long as one tried and tried hard

the Wikipedia entry introduces the concept with this
>The American Dream is a national ethos of the United States, the set of ideals (democracy, rights, liberty, opportunity and equality) in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity and success, as well as an upward social mobility for the family and children, achieved through hard work in a society with few barriers. In the definition of the American Dream by James Truslow Adams in 1931, "life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement" regardless of social class or circumstances of birth.
>The American Dream is rooted in the Declaration of Independence, which proclaims that "all men are created equal" with the right to "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

[Anonymous No.11026841]

>>11026528
great post

It's amazing how often the brainlets will claim the book is nothing but HUUURRRR DRUGS AND DEGENERACY, when the book's preface is "He who makes a beast of himself gets rid of the pain of being a man"

[Anonymous No.11026860]

>>11026126
>>11025060
>I have no idea what I'm talking about: The Brainlet

[Anonymous No.11026879]

>>11026644
Basically total freedom

[Anonymous No.11026909]

>>11026879
Nah, its more nuanced than that

It's hard to "get it" if you aren't an ameriburger. The American psyche runs on concepts that most other countries are completely unfamiliar with (Exceptionalism, "hard work will set you free", unabated consumerism, the "pursuit of happiness"- which is a very retarded and fallacious idea btw) etc etc

[Anonymous No.11027065]

>>11026644
The meaning shifts and changes, but the pursuit of happiness is key. The idea that the land of opportunities can provide for everyone materially and spiritually. For hippies, it was oppositional: they wanted an end to war, to restrictions of sexuality, drugs, etc. They were dealing with a society that forbade everything from mixed marriages to having a beard, so their ideal has to be seen as a response to 1950s post-war U.S. corporate culture and social conservatism. Before the 60s, the dream was about financial security leading to happiness. In the 60s and early 70s, it was about a spiritual enlightenment or freedom leading to happiness. Thompson mocks both with his self-destructive excess.

[Anonymous No.11027168]

>>11027065
how he mocks 50s financial security?

[Anonymous No.11027196]

>>11026909
>hard work will set you free
wasn't that posted in Nazi Concentration Camps?

[Anonymous No.11027290]

>>11026909
>ther countries are completely unfamiliar with (Exceptionalism, "hard work will set you free", unabated consumerism, the "pursuit of happiness"-
is this satire?
have you left your basement the past century?
take a look around jesus christ stop with the false EU-USA dichotomy

[Anonymous No.11027387]

>>11026528

I listened to that section on the gonzo tapes pretty recently. It's like a high level parody. They go around asking where they can find the American dream and they keep getting directions to seedy bars and nightclubs. It's real funny. His attorney can barely contain his laughter in parts.

[Anonymous No.11027404]

>>11027290
not an argument
>stop with the false EU-USA dichotomy
go ahead and prove me wrong

[Anonymous No.11027448]

>>11023942
Hunter S Thompson rapidly became an irritating parody of himself after writing that Kentucky Derby piece. Every circle he went into from then onwards descended more and more into relentless praise for his standard 'acting depraved and taking drugs in excess around straights with the occassional political burst' character he created

[Anonymous No.11027483]

>>11023942
Edgy teens.

That's when I read it at least and liked it.

[Anonymous No.11027543]

>>11027387
Reminder that the real Dr. Gonzo, Oscar Zeta Acosta, disappeared in 1974 during a trip in Mazatlán, Mexico, and although presumed dead, is probably still ingesting forbidden hallucinogenic herbs and deflowering virgins in some lost tribal jungle lair. Read his memoir, Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo.

[Anonymous No.11027559]

>>11027448
Yeah really he should have just killed himself

[Anonymous No.11027599]

>>11027448
he himself never denied any of what you just said

[Anonymous No.11027610]

>>11027448
Hey, anything that gets us Fear and Loathing and Uncle Duke from Doonesbury is worth it to me. The greatest parody of Thompson is from The Rutland Dirty Weekend Book by Eric Idle, 1976, a true Monty Python-style dense and lavishly illustrated parody of the television, films and print media of the mid-1970s. In the "Rutland Stone" is a three-page excerpt called "Fear and Loathing in Liecestershire," complete with Ralph Steadman-esque illustrations done by the real Ralph Steadman. It's hard to describe.

[Anonymous No.11027616]

>>11027543
>Brown Buffalo

bro did u ever see the bill murray version of fear an loathing instead of the johnny depp one? its call "where the buffalo roam" and i was always like where did they get that name

[Anonymous No.11027617]

>hairdresser asks what I do in my spare time
>tell him I read
>he says he reads too
>loves fear and loathing and gonzo lit/journalism
>resist the urge to leave with half my hair cut

[Anonymous No.11027619]

>>11027616
I did. In some ways it's the better version, though I enjoy both.

[Anonymous No.11027622]

>>11027617
same

[Anonymous No.11027631]

>>11027616

[Anonymous No.11027639]

>>11027619
>Pxxt? Noob

woah is dunesbury redpilled?

[Anonymous No.11027667]

DUDE SEVERAL KINDS OF DRUGS LMAO

[Anonymous No.11027793]

Platoon is a terrible film but when Barnes takes a hit from that guy's pipe and says "you use this to escape reality...I AM reality" it encapsulates the precise quality of American counterculture and its destitution.

[Anonymous No.11028099]

>>11023942
Hunter S. Thompson is based, heathen

[Anonymous No.11028288]

>>11023942
Saf space i need a ssfe soace

[Anonymous No.11028638]

>>11027168
When his lawyer asks the old people in the car on the strip next to them if they have any heroin and then pukes on their car, then one of the old guys freaks out and starts screaming at them as the lawyer laughs and they drive away

[Anonymous No.11028648]

>>11027616
It's not at all a version of fear and loathing in Las Vegas. It's a completely different story

[Anonymous No.11029410]

>>11023942
For someone who is just picking it up: Convoluted storytelling of a drug romp through Vegas sprinkled with political nuances that are pretty stale by the current age.

For someone familiar with HST's personal life and exploits: Comfy read of a madman outlaw who lead a more admirable side of 70's counterculture that didn't evolve into soy trash.

[Anonymous No.11029426]

>>11024153
Read it. It's excellent.

[Anonymous No.11029434]

>>11024832
Not an argument.

[Anonymous No.11029451]

>>11026561
you do not know where that term comes from at all, and watching you counter-signal is as embarrassing as the dedicated anti-Semites we have on this board

[Anonymous No.11029453]

>>11024153
It's about 200 pages long and the prose is simple and to the point. I finished it in a single afternoon. Get off of here and go read it.

[Anonymous No.11029709]

>>11025060
That's pretty much what he says at the last page.

[Anonymous No.11030294]

>>11026528
>This section encapsulates what Thompson believes to be the empty promise of the American Dream, one that is plagued by corruption and sinister greed.
This is an interesting premise to explore but Thompson doesn't do it very well.
>The American dream is bad and fake
>how so?
>well look how bad and fake my characters are, they're the American dream
It's very surface level and not very insightful. Saying something is bad and using an unrelated story of bad people as an extended metaphor for that doesn't work if the metaphor is too broad and disconnected. The characters are degenerates but this doesn't tell me that the American dream is the same because what the American dream is (or isn't) to the average Joe is not reflected by the degeneracy of the characters whose story is simply about being as degenerate as possible without any relevance to real life. Yes, the American dream has been plagued and corrupted, but how has it been plagued and corrupted? A story about a bunch of guys being corrupt and plague-like doesn't tell me anything more than I already know.

[Anonymous No.11031587]

>>11030294
>how has it been plagued and corrupted?
hint: there's a reason why Las Vegas is the place where the story takes place

[Anonymous No.11031707]

>>11030294
I'm gonna level with you cheif, you probably ought to reread it

[Anonymous No.11031796]

>>11027610
>Ralph Steadman-esque illustrations done by the real Ralph Steadman
what did he mean by this

[Anonymous No.11031817]

wow, i'm reading this book for 4/20 and here's a thread about it

[Anonymous No.11032074]

>>11025201
It literally isn't.

[Anonymous No.11032082]

>There are people on this board who haven't taken moderate to high doses of Psychedelics and therefore will never fully comprehend the nature of the story, and the characters therein.

Truly a novel only those who are cool enough to understand it.

[Anonymous No.11032113]

>>11032082
Never read this book but i do enjoy ayahuasca

[Anonymous No.11032196]

Unfortunately i saw the movie first, and it's VERY close to the book. So close that reading the book felt almost pointless. Props to everyone involved with the movie, but damn. Whish i would have read it first!

[Anonymous No.11032426]

>>11032196
Same thing happened to me in reverse. Watched the movie a couple weeks after I finished the book. It's a good movie, and the story certainly lends itself to that visual aspect but it is almost word for word, lengthy monologues spoken verbatim over the film

[Anonymous No.11032433]

>>11031587
Las Vegas as a symbol is just as surface level as the characters. They are degenerate people in a degenerate city but that's not helpful for understanding the American dream beyond the fact that it's supposedly degenerate.

[Anonymous No.11032614]

>>11032433
Las Vegas is the American Dream, long since having eaten itself. It's not just a symbol, but the essential example. Why do you think so much of the work is musings about the zeitgeist that got him here

[Anonymous No.11033079]

>>11029410
I think this is the crux of the divisiveness of Thompson's work, particularly FaLiLV.
nice take.

content aside, if you don't think he has a gift for writing, you're either a contrarian, a square, or not very bright.

[Anonymous No.11033841]

>>11023942
i thoroughly enjoyed it

[Anonymous No.11033914]

>In accordance with his wishes, his ashes were fired out of a cannon.
The last 30-something years of his life may've been shit, but at least he got his final departure in style. He also wrote some shitposty letters to bored housewives who got into him after he published Hell's Angels that are fun to read.

[Anonymous No.11034652]

>>11023942
>who can stomach this shit
Probably people who chose drugs instead of suicide