autumnaabram's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
cbro_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It’s impossible to articulate the feeling of having read this book. It feels like Lolita, without the beautiful prose, stripped down to a stalker and sexuality and the making the choice to pass - with the resources of your uncle, a Rockerfeller. Instead of being liberal commie anarchists, they were trust fund babies playing at liberalism before settling down to run for congress. They never made it past the irony stage.
What fucking posers.
What fucking posers.
wsmythe19's review against another edition
challenging
dark
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
A true story, or as true as eyewitnesses can be. The beginnings of the Beat movement began with blood and love. Both Kerouac and Burroughs manage to fulfill that as well as depict it. A true crime of passion and fear.
bibliotequeish's review against another edition
4.0
Bill Burroughs and Jack Kerouac collaborated on a book chronicling the lives of Ramsay Allen and Phillip Tourian during World War II.
Pulling from their own lives and their own involvement in a 1944 murder, Burroughs and Kerouac tell a twisted story of what some could argue love, obsessions and violence.
A wild story with a wilder title, And the Hippos Were boiled in Their Tanks remained unpublished for decades until its release in 2008.
This was an interesting story made even crazier when you know the inspiration behind it.
I loved seeing this real life story along side this fictional tale and would definitely recommend this for any Beat generation fan.
Pulling from their own lives and their own involvement in a 1944 murder, Burroughs and Kerouac tell a twisted story of what some could argue love, obsessions and violence.
A wild story with a wilder title, And the Hippos Were boiled in Their Tanks remained unpublished for decades until its release in 2008.
This was an interesting story made even crazier when you know the inspiration behind it.
I loved seeing this real life story along side this fictional tale and would definitely recommend this for any Beat generation fan.
karin05's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
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
4.25
thomasgoddard's review against another edition
3.0
When I was a kid I loved the Beat Generation of writers. I think most young guys do. Especially young writers. They symbolise this raw, chaotic and anarchically jubilant force... simply, they're a shorthand for youth.
But, the thing about youth is that it's often accompanied by ignorance. The sort of ignorance that is dangerous because it's drawn over by a carpet of falsehood and performance. There's very little authenticity to be found in young people. They're either acting older than they are, or they're pretending to be cooler, or wiser, or more well read, or virtue signalling, or more reckless than others (mistaking foolhardiness for courage)...
When you're older you learn to see past the bullshit. And most of the Beats were just supreme bullshit artists. That's not a criticism either, not really. They were just rich kids who play-acted at being poor and attempted to understand the lives of the other poor souls around them. They didn't really understand. But they did try to. They tried to access a world that's usually hidden. But when the tough times came, they called up their families and got good lawyers. Even the poorest among them rolled up their sleeves only enough to ask a friend for a loan.
This book is my favourite Beat book. Chiefly because it lacks quite a lot of the elements that later polluted their subgenre. It's a pretty straightforward dual perspective book about a group of friends bumming around the city. I didn't hate it. I think because they wrote it together, they managed to sidestep their worst literary crimes. Kerouac was always trying to be macho and deep. Burroughs was always trying to be cryptic and smart. There's not much of any of that here.
So this is a recommended read. And if I tell any young men about the Beats, I'll tell them to read this first and then maybe they might bypass all the boring on the road nonsense. Burroughs though, he's not a sinner. He's still a good writer. I just have to be in a mood for his work. But then, he was always the old man to the group. So his work is sometimes a little too anal for me... But it's never that badly written.
But, the thing about youth is that it's often accompanied by ignorance. The sort of ignorance that is dangerous because it's drawn over by a carpet of falsehood and performance. There's very little authenticity to be found in young people. They're either acting older than they are, or they're pretending to be cooler, or wiser, or more well read, or virtue signalling, or more reckless than others (mistaking foolhardiness for courage)...
When you're older you learn to see past the bullshit. And most of the Beats were just supreme bullshit artists. That's not a criticism either, not really. They were just rich kids who play-acted at being poor and attempted to understand the lives of the other poor souls around them. They didn't really understand. But they did try to. They tried to access a world that's usually hidden. But when the tough times came, they called up their families and got good lawyers. Even the poorest among them rolled up their sleeves only enough to ask a friend for a loan.
This book is my favourite Beat book. Chiefly because it lacks quite a lot of the elements that later polluted their subgenre. It's a pretty straightforward dual perspective book about a group of friends bumming around the city. I didn't hate it. I think because they wrote it together, they managed to sidestep their worst literary crimes. Kerouac was always trying to be macho and deep. Burroughs was always trying to be cryptic and smart. There's not much of any of that here.
So this is a recommended read. And if I tell any young men about the Beats, I'll tell them to read this first and then maybe they might bypass all the boring on the road nonsense. Burroughs though, he's not a sinner. He's still a good writer. I just have to be in a mood for his work. But then, he was always the old man to the group. So his work is sometimes a little too anal for me... But it's never that badly written.
carolimelemon's review against another edition
4.0
Ok so- I’ll be honest I got the book for the title (after being sure no Hippos were harmed and learning a lot about how that name came to be.)
It was a good story but the Afterword covered it best “However, the plot difficulty with Hippos was alway that Kammerer’s death was not the end of a story but the beginning of one.”
Reading the details of the afterword helped me appreciate this book more and understand it’s significance.
It was a good story but the Afterword covered it best “However, the plot difficulty with Hippos was alway that Kammerer’s death was not the end of a story but the beginning of one.”
Reading the details of the afterword helped me appreciate this book more and understand it’s significance.
a_davis's review against another edition
tense
slow-paced
2.0
I found the afterword much more interesting than the actual book tbh… it added some important historical context about the beat generation and the fact that this is literally a true story about kerouac and borroughs’ friends???? which blew my MIND which added to the depth of the story, at least for me. the history behind the creation of this manuscript was also interesting to read about.
tldr; I’d recommend the afterword and nothing else lol
tldr; I’d recommend the afterword and nothing else lol
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia