angelofthe0dd's review against another edition
5.0
One of the few cases where the book and the movie are both fantastic! I admit I saw the movie first. There are many times when I had to set the book down and wonder how much of this is true, and how much is exaggerated. However, that question is quickly answered in my own mind when I recall that the story starts out with a car trunk full of drugs. Whether the events actually happened or are the product of illicit chemicals - the story is an enjoyable, crazy romp just the same.
chemical_starsigns's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
laugh-out loud funny, bizarre, tremendously entertaining. like nothing i’ve read before. only reason for 4,5 stars is the sometimes tasteless sexism - eventhough i am not sure if it’s completely serious.
rltinha's review against another edition
5.0
A sátira mais genialmente cómica que me passou pelas mãos. Não resisto à comicidade de uma trip gone very wrong. Talvez porque sou uma desgraçada abstémia dotada de pouca maturidade.
[Atentando na insanidade feita «metrópole dos excessos» que é Las Vegas, The Donald parece parido por esse ventre de imundície estulta até aos quarks.]
[Atentando na insanidade feita «metrópole dos excessos» que é Las Vegas, The Donald parece parido por esse ventre de imundície estulta até aos quarks.]
idenkimifah's review against another edition
4.0
One of the few books I'm glad I watched the adaptation first before reading.
Felt like a really weird but good trip
Felt like a really weird but good trip
polly_baker's review against another edition
4.0
The American Dream has been well-documented in literature. From Fitzgerald to Steinbeck to Yates to Thompson…. it’s always a fucked up, unattainable lie.
You could read this chaotic prose as just a mangled report of drug-fuelled idiocy. Two chancers taking liberties at every turn, leaving the Everyman in their wake. But Thompson does more than that. He chases down the lies of American culture, tearing through the facade at 100mph and kicking up the filth from beneath.
The only thing separating the idiots and the geniuses in Thompson’s prose is perception. If Duke and the attorney are lucid – there’s idiots at every encounter. If they’re high and paranoia is rife, then every damned teenage hitch-hiker is conspiring against them.
And it turns out, perception is everything.
Las Vegas is either a glittering city of wealth, abundance and glory or a garish speck in a desert wasteland, a magnet for lowlifes, degenerates and charlatans. The bright lights of Vegas, like Gatsby’s green light, are just another example of false advertising – propaganda. The long-awaited end of the rainbow, but when you arrive there is nothing but “a huge slab of cracked, scorched concrete in a vacant lot full of weeds.”
You could read this chaotic prose as just a mangled report of drug-fuelled idiocy. Two chancers taking liberties at every turn, leaving the Everyman in their wake. But Thompson does more than that. He chases down the lies of American culture, tearing through the facade at 100mph and kicking up the filth from beneath.
The only thing separating the idiots and the geniuses in Thompson’s prose is perception. If Duke and the attorney are lucid – there’s idiots at every encounter. If they’re high and paranoia is rife, then every damned teenage hitch-hiker is conspiring against them.
And it turns out, perception is everything.
Las Vegas is either a glittering city of wealth, abundance and glory or a garish speck in a desert wasteland, a magnet for lowlifes, degenerates and charlatans. The bright lights of Vegas, like Gatsby’s green light, are just another example of false advertising – propaganda. The long-awaited end of the rainbow, but when you arrive there is nothing but “a huge slab of cracked, scorched concrete in a vacant lot full of weeds.”
reaumant's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
asha4brainz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
khristy's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Writing: fine? I guess. The whole book is like an acid trip. I guess the fact that you can follow any of it is a tribute to the writing.
Plot/characters: I spent most of the book wondering wtf was going on. It’s hard to know how much of the story is real and how much is a drug dream.
Profundity: it’s about the quest for the American Dream, I suppose? To me, it mainly feels like people being lost/without purpose with drugs and greed thrown in.
Plot/characters: I spent most of the book wondering wtf was going on. It’s hard to know how much of the story is real and how much is a drug dream.
Profundity: it’s about the quest for the American Dream, I suppose? To me, it mainly feels like people being lost/without purpose with drugs and greed thrown in.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use and Drug abuse