Snowed In

Many of us, when someone if we’ve read Hunter S. Thompson’s classic Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream, are reduced to tossing out that pitiful phrase, “I’ve seen the movie”.

I’m here to report: the movie is not the book. You’re welcome. Love, Captain Obvious.

Well, that’s not exacltly a complete review so I’ll say a little more. I walked away from the movie thinking two things: “my, that was an entertaining drug binge,” and “Benicio del Toro and Johnny Depp… they silly.” But when I sat down to read the book I was surprised to see how much more it is.

It’s hi-larious, for one. I audibly chortled. Frequently. And it’s actually a fairly deep commentary. The only take-home lesson I got from the movie was some vague hippie notion of…. well, I don’t really remember. The book seemed to say a lot though, about how we make priorities and how we interact with people. Things that I found insightful. Things that never quite came through in the movie.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is very well written and it’s fun and you’ll learn something about yourself. Hunter S. Thompson doesn’t really need my endorsement, but the book is worth reading for almost anybody.