I read The Rum Diary by Hunter S. Thompson outloud and Salem recorded it. So, if you would like to listen to this book, the option is available.
Not until the last page did I realize this was a book about people adjusting to life post WWII. I know, I know I talk about WWII a lot. But seriously, did you all realize this?
“I never thought I’d live to see thirty. I don’t know why, but for some reason I just didn’t.
I smiled. “I don’t know if I did or note–I never gave it much thought.”
I did not understand this, until I did the math. Can you imagine coming of age in the early 1940s? Or what about all the men in their 20s and 30s who were drafted into the war in the 1940s? They didn’t know if they were going to live or die. They did not know if they were ever going to get to see 30. Let alone have a “normal” life. Once I realized this the book made more sense.
The Rum Diary seems to be better written than Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. The online reviews do not agree with me. But I enjoyed the writing of this book more. It seems to flow better. Or maybe it was just easier to follow because they weren’t on so many drugs in this book. They just drank heavily in The Rum Diary.
This novel was completed back in the 1960s, but was not published until 1998. Which is rather rare. Who knows what the real reason is. But money motivates us all to do things. So we can assume, Thompson published it to get paid.
The online summaries say this book is about the disillusionment of the 1950s and colonialism. And it is. But it also about people who did not want to follow the status quo and do what everyone else was doing. It is about the counter culture of the late 1950s. Just because you do not know what you want, does not mean you have to do what everyone else is doing. Which fits Hunter S. Thompson’s theme. He never seemed to conform in his lifetime. Which is something I definitely look up to him for. Not many people can live a whole life being true to themselves. It would be interesting to live in a world where most people were true to themselves. What a different world it would be!
I liked it. I didn’t completely understand it while I was reading it. But I liked it. And it was an easy read, not too long. Thompson does have a way with words. The flow and rhythm make it feel like you are there. I love the way Hunter S. Thompson writes. If you liked Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, you will like The Rum Diary too. What a different world it was back then. We have to remember the past in order to not repeat it.