The last of The Times 99p reads, I shall miss these surprise treats on a Monday morning :(

(14/10) I suppose this is what it is, such a classic visceral study of 'gonzo' journalism, drug abuse, and chasing the American Dream (Thompson's justification for this road-trip?), that it defies criticism or critique. As with On the Road in a previous generation, it has aged badly, although I guess the underlying shiftless, aimless searching for meaning and, almost inevitably, seeking out evermore excess, is destined to be repeated over and over...? So, not a fun read, but rewarding in that it is better to watch a car-crash, even if slo mo with too much graphic detail, than be a involved in the accident first hand.

And so to the film. I was disappointed for 2 reasons, which sound contradictory; firstly the casting of Depp as Thompson/Raoul Duke and a plainly underweight hispanic as his Samoan attorney sidekick was laughable. Secondly, the director seems to follow the book almost slavishly. Surely, such a random mixture of truth and fiction shouldn't be recorded or copied...that negates the whole meaning of gonzo?

WILD RELEASE NOTES:

I'm hoping to leave this somewhere in Terminal 3, if safe, on our way to India and Nepal :)

If you find this, welcome to bookcrossing :) Please write a journal entry on the website (here!) to tell me where the book is going to next...