Rating: 
Summary: well, now, uh er, let me explain
Review: It seems that a book, well bound, was placed at my door one morning and as I live in an apartment, I was rather intrigued that someone hopefully someone of great interest to me, had done this as a fine comment on the person they assumed me to be. Problem was anonymity. I had a run in with the fellow below me and due to my revelling and cvolume of music and companions, he grew angry and came up to see me. I knew what the knowing knock meant so I let the door swing open like the way a dress of satin might glide during a waltz. The neighbor viewed me and did not enter only pointed down below. I knew precisely what he meant, such was my acuity. I slung the door shut and turned the volume up to show him my disdain, afterall it was only a tuesday and we are all food for worms, lads and yes lassies, no tv show irony intended conciously. SO I did read an excerpt in the New Yorker magazine and as soon as I can get my hands on the funds I will buy the book, maybe find it remaindered somewhere. The book on my doorstep? Oh it was some romantic trash. Godspeed.
Rating: 
Summary: (hum d)rum diary
Review: This novel is like a film noir script. The prose is terse. The characters are tragic, but don't evoke much in the way of pity. You see them go down and you think "well, it figures".What I like most about this book was its ability to evoke a time, a place and a certain demographic. San Juan in the late 50s must have been a blast if you were young, American and basically looking for an exotic good time without the bother of getting a passport or changing your money. If Paul Kemp is Thompson's alter ego, then HST was impressively candid about what a worthless rake he was. I suspect that Kemp is a composite of the worst tendencies of Thompson and several other guys from the same crowd. No eternal verities are even hinted at in this book. If there was one iota of "hey this is literature" in this book, then it would be truly bad. On the contrary, it is just a well-written story about a shabby life.
Rating:
Summary: Few Equals NO Superiors
Review: Reading this book was like opening a time capsule of America before things went really wrong and all the fun stopped. It is hard to believe that a 22 year old writer could capture a view of the gears and wheels of the ramshackle machinery in this country that is the awful truth.
Rating:
Summary: long-lost, long-awaited
Review: Good God! He wrote this at 22? Gives us aspiring teenage writers something to look forward- and look up- to. What a ride.
Rating: 
Summary: The catepillar that became the butterfly.
Review: If you didn't know this was a work of HST, you'd think it was a cheap rip-off from some Gonzo wannabe. Not quite there yet. Don't drink a wine too early. But what's in the bottle will be awsome some day.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty good in a not bad kind of way
Review: Not as good as Fear and Loathing, but if you were expecting it to be then you'd have to be stupid anyway. The story doesn't really ever get going enough and the character of Paul Kemp is a little bit 2 dimentional. Having said that, I really enjoyed it, and that is the main idea, is it not.
Rating:
Summary: Hunter Thompsons lost novel a nice try.
Review: "The Rum Diary" is a fantastic novel about Paul Kemp, apparently Hunter Thompson's persona as a reporter in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The story chronicles the short-lived career of Kemp as a reporter for the San Juan Daily News, a newspaper that started out struggling and never really got off the ground. Kemp arrives for the last floundering year of the Daily News and stays for the remainder of it's chaotic, yet amusing, life. Although it lacks the truly mad energy of his later works this is definitely a Thompson novel. "The Rum Diary" has every component of a gonzo masterpiece: alcoholic binges lasting for days, run-ins with the law, sex crazed women, and enough rum to support a small country! His usage of first person naration suggest that Paul Kemp is Hunter Thompson himself. This form of naration also lets the story flow nicely.
Rating:
Summary: The Fetal Stages of Gonzo Journalism
Review: In the 50's, before the twisted madness of Fear and Loathing, Thompson still had the wit and observational skills of the master cynic. His characteristic exposure of human hypocrisy and corruption once again shines through. Man's low points are manifest in this epic of a lone journalist who's trying to figure out the point of all the chaos. Hunter's most distinct gift is the ability to satirize, criticize, and tear down the evil world, but by letting the reader take in the simple observations and form their own criticism. It's not propaganda. It's journalism. A man against the masses, once more into the battle. Definitely a must-read.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best pieces of reality set in fiction.
Review: This is a perfect example of Mr. Thompson's ability to capture the thoughts and feelings of regular people. The grass is always greener on the other side. This novel accuratly shows why people are discontent with what they have. People always want something better. The characters in this book are drifters, of a sort, set in a place where the white men are drifting in and the Puerto Ricans are trying to drift out. Always keep moving.
Rating:
Summary: Bueno
Review: HST is a genius. I was jealous as hell that he'd managed to write this book at only twenty two. Having had a few holidays myself where I've literally been escorted back on the plane by the local authorities, I found myself cringing guiltily at Kemp's behaviour. Everytime he woke up with a hangover, I felt depressed with him. If you don't enjoy this book...you just don't get it!
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