Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

I've always meant to read this book (and meant to watch the 1998 movie adaptation starring Johnny Depp), yet I didn't get around to until my Great Books Book Club chose it for July 2024.

There were parts of this book (unfortunately, I turned in to the library and can't quote exact passages), which were absolutely outstanding. The moments where the Duke pulls back and observes how the people in Vegas represent what Americans have become, gambling and consuming, chasing the unattainable American Dream. Other parts were totally over the top, but that was the point, right?

It was really interesting to consider both “On the Road,” “The Great Gatsby,” Hemingway in general, and “The Armies of the Night;” our book club has read all of those since 2008 and they all come up in this book.

So, am I glad I read this book? Yes, most definitely. Do I want to read a few other books by Thompson, such as “Hells Angels” and “Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail ‘72?” Yes! Do I enjoy Gonzo Journalism? Jury is out.

Discussion Questions from 07/20/2024 Meeting
1. How do the Steadman illustrations affect the narrative?
2. Were the cultural and political references enjoyable/helpful or baffling (i.e Martin Borrman, Fatty Arbuckle)?
3. Is the narrator reliable? How valuable are his perceptions? How does external violence (assassinations, the Vietnam War) influence his internal state?
4. How does the narrator describe psychedelic drugs and what is their function in the story?
5. Thompson quotes William Faulkner: “the best fiction is far more true than any kind of journalism.” What is Gonzo journalism and how is it different from New Journalism? Is this book a novel or is it journalism or something else?
6. What is the author's view of police and authority and how did they play a part in the story? Can you compare the discussion in Part 2, Chapter 7 that the Duke and his attorney have with the DA from Georgia to the 1980's War on Drugs?
7. What is the author's view on the 1960's counterculture movement (looking back at it from 1971)? How about the Beats?
8. What do the Great Red Shark and the White Whale reflect about American values? What is the meaning of all the rides that Duke and his attorney go on and what are they looking for?
9. Why does Duke refer to the Las Vegas hotel Circus Circus as “the main nerve of the American Dream.”
10. The book's subtitle is “A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream.” The author stated in interviews that he used F. Scott Fitzgerald's “The Great Gatsby” as a template for this novel. What was the American Dream of the 1960's vs the 1920's? Why does Duke fixate on Horatio Alger?
11. How would you interpret the “Wave Speech” at the end of Chapter 8, Part I? How would you compare it to the last page of The Great Gatsby?

1998 Movie clip of the “Wave Speech:” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUgs2O7Okqc&t=103s


Sources and Further Reading:
“A Rare Recording of Hunter S. Thompson” on Hoopla: https://www.hoopladigital.com/my/hoopla

https://www.beatdom.com/fact-fiction-fear-loathing/

https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/vleb1b/breaking_down_fear_and_loathing_in_las_vegas_long/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter_S._Thompson