Half a century after its first publication, Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1971) is still a cult classic. The film adaptation by Terry Gilliam, starring Johnny Depp and Benicio del Toro, has probably enhanced that status. I remember watching it as a student, dazzled by the twists and turns of the human brain.

By this time the drink was beginning to cut the acid and my hallucinations were down to a tolerable level. The room service waiter had a vaguely reptilian cast to his features, but I was no longer seeing huge pterodactyls lumbering around the corridors in pools of fresh blood.

The novel tells the account of journalist Raoul Duke, who travels to Las Vegas to cover the Mint 400 race. It is written in the style of gonzo journalism, meaning fact and fiction are blended. Due to the constant use of alcohol and drugs, Raoul’s account is indeed an all too fantastic blur. Personally, I enjoyed it until about midway through. The narrative is so hazy and over the top that it is downright hilarious at times. High on drugs and mad as hell, life seems to overwhelm Raoul and his ‘attorney’ Doctor Gonzo. Their behavior may be irresponsible, but it is also charmingly mischievous. After a while, however, the lack of focus gets monotonous.

There are striking similarities between Thompson’s work and Jack Kerouac’s [b:On the Road|2552|On the Road|Jack Kerouac|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1605112490l/2552.SY75.jpg|1701188], which I read right before. Both stories are based on the authors’ own experiences and revolve around drugs and travelling. There is a difference in time, though: whereas Kerouac published his novel in the late 50s, at the dawn of the counterculture movement, Thompson came one-and-a-half decades later, taking note of shifting policies. No doubt I missed most of the references, but it did struck me that Spiro Agnew’s name comes up frequently.

Next on my list is Aldous Huxley’s [b:The Doors of Perception|49020744|The Doors of Perception|Aldous Huxley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1575187344l/49020744.SY75.jpg|23668205].