Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a chaotic and surreal novel by Hunter S. Thompson, subtitled "A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream." The story follows journalist Raoul Duke and his attorney, Dr. Gonzo, as they travel to Las Vegas in 1971 for a motorcycle race assignment.
Their trip quickly devolves into a drug-fueled, psychedelic odyssey through the city. Armed with a trunk full of illicit substances—including acid, mescaline, ether, cocaine, and various pills—they consume massive quantities of drugs, leading to vivid hallucinations, paranoia, and a series of absurd and destructive misadventures.
Beneath the surface-level chaos, the narrative is a commentary on the failure of the 1960s counterculture movement and a cynical examination of the American Dream. As they interact with "normal" people and mainstream events (such as a District Attorneys' convention on narcotics), the protagonists observe a growing disconnect between their generation's ideals and the increasingly conservative, consumerist reality of America in the early 1970s. The novel captures a feeling of disillusionment and the end of an era of hope, chronicling a search for meaning in a society they view as decadent and phony.
Description:
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is a chaotic and surreal novel by Hunter S. Thompson, subtitled "A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream." The story follows journalist Raoul Duke and his attorney, Dr. Gonzo, as they travel to Las Vegas in 1971 for a motorcycle race assignment.
Their trip quickly devolves into a drug-fueled, psychedelic odyssey through the city. Armed with a trunk full of illicit substances—including acid, mescaline, ether, cocaine, and various pills—they consume massive quantities of drugs, leading to vivid hallucinations, paranoia, and a series of absurd and destructive misadventures.
Beneath the surface-level chaos, the narrative is a commentary on the failure of the 1960s counterculture movement and a cynical examination of the American Dream. As they interact with "normal" people and mainstream events (such as a District Attorneys' convention on narcotics), the protagonists observe a growing disconnect between their generation's ideals and the increasingly conservative, consumerist reality of America in the early 1970s. The novel captures a feeling of disillusionment and the end of an era of hope, chronicling a search for meaning in a society they view as decadent and phony.