It was forty years ago that Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas came forth blinking and convulsing with manic, paranoid brilliance into the light, and what a long strange trip it’s been! Long acknowledged as a cult classic, as the decades pass by without lessening the immediacy and scathing volatility of Thompson’s drug-fuelled picaresque in quest of a bankrupt American Dream it is hard to resist labelling it as anything less than an out-and-out Great Book; Thompson, who had his earthly remains fired out of a cannon, seems to have come to rest in The Canon. So I at least maintained in a recent conversation with the Bushwick Book Club’s Seattle Chapter.
For those unfamiliar with the Bushwick Book Club, they hold monthly “meetings” in which members (and special guests) play music inspired by various good books. Past titles have included The Shining, The Outsiders, “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!”, and The Princess Bride. The have a weekly segment on Public Radio Exchange, and recently did an event at Town Hall with beloved Seattle librarian Nancy Pearl. This Friday they will be back at Town Hall, joined by the Seattle Rock Orchestra to pay musical tribute to the countercultural classic, in what promises to be an interesting evening to say the least; pretty much anything might happen in a large space filled with Hunter S. Thompson fans.
How about you? When did you first read Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and what has it meant to you? Why should people read it? Is it a classic? Does it matter?
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