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The Kitchen Readings: Untold Stories of Hunter S. Thompson
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Review
"A pleasant addition to Thompsoniana."--Kirkus Reviews
Product Description
We've all seen the Johnny Depp and Bill Murray versions of Hunter S. Thompson - a larger-than-life madman, swilling booze with one hand and piloting classic cars with the other. But while Hunter's legendary exploits in "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," and "Hell's Angels" and his other Gonzo tales are the public side of the man, there were very few people who were there when he let his guard down. Sheriff Bob and Michael Cleverly were there from the beginning of HST's Woody Creek days to the fateful moment three years ago when he signed off for good."The Kitchen Readings" is an intimate portrait of the private Hunter; these guys were there when the documentary cameras stopped rolling. As is the case in many less-infamous homes, Hunter's de facto base was his kitchen - a place where he could see the TV, grab ice from the freezer, and fire off a few rounds of ammunition with equal aplomb. There he would hold court for a never-ending stream of locals, celebrities, friends, lovers, camera crews, children, and fans. Braudis and Cleverly have recreated the reminiscences of all of Hunter's antics throughout his Woody Creek years - from the day he replaced his guard dogs with guard peacocks to the nutty, off-kilter fans who would show up uninvited and meet with a less-than-cordial (and armed) HST to the time the mayor's daughter was accidentally treated to a XXX video in a Kentucky Derby party mix-up to the final homage to Hunter that was a Hollywood-style blowout, replete with his ashes being shot out of a giant Gonzo fist.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Hunter S. Thompson, at his best, was one of the great late 20th century American writers. He played a leading role in elevating journalism to an art form and was a major influence on aspiring writers. However, the wonderful talent he showed in the 60s and 70s gradually dissipated and, apart from the odd tantalising glimpse of greatness, he wrote little of value in his last three decades and became a sad parody of his former self.
The only merit of this book is that it helps to show us how HST's deterioration was facilitated. He was surrounded by a sycophantic circle of enablers who boosted his ego, facilitated his drinking and drug-taking and offered no criticism or advice when confronted with appalling behaviour. The writers fawn over a few isolated incidents of HST's kindness and consideration but are overcome with amusement and admiration when recounting tales of gross behaviour by Thompson, many of whose victims were women and children.
I'm sure that there were people around Thompson who refused to accept and facilitate his behaviour. However, their efforts were doomed to be undermined by enablers such as the writers of this book. The merit of the book is the insight it provides into the circumstances surrounding the deterioration of a great writer.
The only merit of this book is that it helps to show us how HST's deterioration was facilitated. He was surrounded by a sycophantic circle of enablers who boosted his ego, facilitated his drinking and drug-taking and offered no criticism or advice when confronted with appalling behaviour. The writers fawn over a few isolated incidents of HST's kindness and consideration but are overcome with amusement and admiration when recounting tales of gross behaviour by Thompson, many of whose victims were women and children.
I'm sure that there were people around Thompson who refused to accept and facilitate his behaviour. However, their efforts were doomed to be undermined by enablers such as the writers of this book. The merit of the book is the insight it provides into the circumstances surrounding the deterioration of a great writer.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Seems to be written by hangers-on. You get very little sense of Hunter S Thompson as a user of language in this book, and the references to any kind of music are few and far between. It's like if I went to a load of Norman Mailer's cocktail parties and then tried to pass myself off as his best mate by describing how many times he stumbled when drunk.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I'd agree that this book has a shambolic structure, and it's quite clear that the authors were hangers on who liked to soak in the rarefied air of celebrity around Thompson. What you do get, though, are some good anecdotal insights into the life of a great writer who went off the rails.
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