Padfoot - Second Review - The Curse of Lono

The Curse of Lono
By Hunter. S. Thompson

A few weeks ago I made my weekly trip to Half-Price. Staring at me from across the room was a Ralph Steadman picture on a book that I had never seen before. The book was "The Curse of Lono" by Hunter S. Thompson and Ralph Steadman. I am a "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" fanatic so I decided then and there 20 bucks for this book was well worth it. Plus it has lots of Steadman creepy pictures that I love, and if you haven't seen them before Google them, they are fantastic.

First of all, if you have never read a Hunter S. Thompson novel, what are you doing with your life?! Go read one right now! That being said, I had high expectations for this book. "The Curse of Lono" starts off with Thompson and Steadman going on a trip to Hawaii to cover a marathon. As in most of Thompson's writings, there are many strange adventures hes experiences, and many drug infested memories. Usually, this makes for great stories, but this book just felt dry, and forced.

However, his descriptions of Ralph Steadman, the "rich and famous British artist", were hysterical. He portrays Steadman as, a crazy British man:

"Many were world-class runners, fanatics about personal health, and the sight of Ralph made them cringe. The aloe had half-cured his back, but he still walked like a stroke victim and his physical presence was not cheerful. He limped from room to room with his sketchbook, still deeply confused on valerian root, until a man wearing a silver Nike jumpsuit finally led him outside and said he should check himself into the leper colony on Molokai."

After reading "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", watching the movie, and falling completely in love with Thompson's unique story telling, I expected nothing but stimulation of the brain from "The Curse of Lono". I do believe having such high expectations were what ruined the book for me. However, it is still a great work from Thompson, and if you do not even want to attempt this book I do not blame you. Read "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas", or "The Rum Diary", I hear the latter is an extremely fantastic read as well.

The pictures posted on this blog are all by Ralph Steadman, and if you don't know, these books by Thompson are all 'Gonzo Journalism' which is a mix of facts and fiction.

If you are interested in seeing some more of Steadman's artwork (which is creepy, not for everyone, but fantastic to me!) then here is his official website; check it out!

http://www.ralphsteadman.com