# Similar to Hunter S Thomson



## OurJud (Aug 15, 2013)

I've just finished HST's _Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas_ and absolutely adored it. So much so that the book I started afterwards almost paled into insignificance.

I have his_ The Rum Diary_ on its way, but don't really want to swamp myself in HST all in one go and was wondering if anyone here knows of any writers from whom I'll get the same vibe.

I've done the usual google searches, but just get the same recommendations from each site. I've checked these books and they all seem to be taking the drug-taking aspect of F&L and linking that with other books, which isn't necessarily the aspect of F&L that I enjoyed. A lot of the recommendations also seem to be non-fiction, and while I appreciate F&L has its roots in non-fiction, it still reads like fiction because of how outrageous the tale is.

I liked his rawness, his dialogue, the 'road trip' aspect.

Any recs for writers with a similar style to Thomson would be appreciated.


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## nedalbian1 (Aug 28, 2013)

I read the rum diaries recently and really enjoyed it. Hunter S Thompson has razor-sharp wit even in that early novel.      


Charles bukowski might fit the bill. His novels and poetry have the essence of a man (himself) who is immersed in the seedy underground of drugs, alcohol, prostitutes, lovers (who he has no qualms about meeting through his notoriety as an author), and horse races. While he is morally degraded, his naked honesty makes him relatable, or at least fun to read. It's a strange combination to walk in the shoes of a man like this and still be taken by his beautiful, straightforward prose.   


I know "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac is very popular, but if you haven't read it you should give it a look. It's one of my all-time favorites.


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## Pluralized (Aug 28, 2013)

_The Dharma Bums _by Kerouac or _Sailor Song _by Ken Kesey.


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## Jon M (Aug 28, 2013)

You might really like _Permanent Midnight_, by Jerry Stahl.


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## Blade (Aug 28, 2013)

OurJud said:


> Any recs for writers with a similar style to Thomson would be appreciated.


As far as I know there is no author who writes in Thompson's style though there are some who have a distinctive style that marks their work. Kurt Vonnegut  Jr. and Jack Keroac come to mind.


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## Pluralized (Sep 3, 2013)

Took the opportunity during some work travel last week to read Fear and Loathing and I see what you mean about the unique atmosphere. It was a lot of fun and set a very fearless tone that almost made me wonder if anyone has that sort of hallucinogenic bravado anymore. Toward the end, though - I wanted out and wasn't sorry it ended. Highly recommended, particularly for those who've never dabbled in hard drugs. And mostly for those who have.


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## Jon M (Sep 3, 2013)

I've been reading bits of it recently as well, mostly because of this thread. Then got a hankering to watch the film and was impressed by how faithful Gilliam et al. were to the text. It's not an especially fun movie to watch, in fact by the end I was kind of drained, but I do think it was filmed in the best and most 'correct' way possible.


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## luckyscars (Sep 8, 2013)

There is nobody really similar to Thompson. Closest I know of would be other sixties-era writers. Kerouac is a puzzling mention - I don't think his style or subject matter is really similar at all to Thompsons. Same situation with Vonnegut. Admittedly a lot of people who like Thompson do tend to like Kerouac and Vonnegut, I think that's probably where most of the link between them comes from.

Try Tom Wolfe's "Electric Kool Aid Acid Test" and P.J O'Rourke's "Parliament of Whores''. O'Rourke especially was very influenced by Thompson, politically and stylistically, so you'll probably find his work the closest.


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## OurJud (Sep 8, 2013)

Pluralized said:


> Toward the end, though - I wanted out and wasn't sorry it ended.



Well despite it being one of my favourite and easiest reads _ever_, I sort of know what you mean. I was glad it was over too, but only in the same way you're glad when your brilliant holiday is over. Does that make sense?

Sorry I've taken so long to reply to this thread, but it went so long without an answer I stopped checking and presumed it had sunk without trace.

Ned, I've read Bukowski's _Ham on Rye_ and loved it in very much the same way I did F&L. Honestly can't think why I haven't bought anything else of his.

Plu, I'm going to check out Ken Kesey. Thanks.

Jon and luckyscars, ditto on John Stahl and P.J O'Rourke.

Blade, I see now that it was a bit of a daft question. I think what I meant when I originally asked, was not for authors with a similar writing style (although that's exactly what I specified) but for books with a similar theme.


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## Blade (Sep 8, 2013)

luckyscars said:


> There is nobody really similar to Thompson. Closest I know of would be other sixties-era writers. Kerouac is a puzzling mention - I don't think his style or subject matter is really similar at all to Thompsons. Same situation with Vonnegut. Admittedly a lot of people who like Thompson do tend to like Kerouac and Vonnegut, I think that's probably where most of the link between them comes from.
> 
> .



I have not read either author for a long time. They just struck me as being from roughly the same era and writers that when you were reading them 'you knew where you were'.



OurJud said:


> Blade, I see now that it was a bit of a daft question. I think what I meant when I originally asked, was not for authors with a similar writing style (although that's exactly what I specified) but for books with a similar theme.



The actual answer to your original question would have been one word, no, which makes for a dull thread. Unless you have someone with his personality you ate not going to get the style.

Here is something I came across yesterday, from a movie called _Where the Buffalo Roam, _a two and a half minute clip of Bill Murray doing Hunter S Thompson. Who would really act like that?:icon_shaking:

Bill Murray as Hunter S Thompson - YouTube


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## OurJud (Sep 8, 2013)

Blade said:


> Here is something I came across yesterday, from a movie called _Where the Buffalo Roam, _a two and a half minute clip of Bill Murray doing Hunter S Thompson. Who would really act like that?:icon_shaking:
> 
> Bill Murray as Hunter S Thompson - YouTube



How do you mean? Are you saying HST wasn't really like that or that Murray's portrayal was bad?


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## Blade (Sep 8, 2013)

OurJud said:


> How do you mean? Are you saying HST wasn't really like that or that Murray's portrayal was bad?



Well he seems to have a reputation for being a lively, off-the-wall sort of guy in which case the portrayal is probably quite good. My point would be that his behaviour is rather unusual which would be reflected in turn in his writing style.

Unless you were that sort of personality type trying to imitate the style would likely have dismal results.


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## spartan928 (Oct 15, 2013)

Check out David Foster Wallace's essays sometime. His collection "Consider the Lobster" has some gems. "Big Red Son" from that collection reminded me a bit of HST's Fear and Loathing in that it's based in Vegas but is DFW's experience with a national porn awards event. Hilarious stuff.


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## The Tourist (Oct 15, 2013)

OurJud, I think Thompson was a better writer than our craft will admit.  He had a style and flare and that "gonzo" label, but he could tell a yarn.

I do feel that somewhere along the line his methods trumped his prose, and that's the real crime.  Blasting TVs with a .44 Rem Mag and chronic LSD trips bogged him down after a bit.

"Fear and Loathing" was terrific.  I wish he had lived long enough to make that idea a series--like Crosby and Hope's "road pictures."  Kind of like 'F&L in Peoria' or 'F&L in Idaho Potato Country.'

I would have read them all.  After all, his book on The Angels changed my life.


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## Bilston Blue (Oct 15, 2013)

spartan928 said:


> Check out David Foster Wallace's essays sometime. His collection "Consider the Lobster" has some gems. "Big Red Son" from that collection reminded me a bit of HST's Fear and Loathing in that it's based in Vegas but is DFW's experience with a national porn awards event. Hilarious stuff.



Hey, OurJud, I came here to recommend DFW, but Spartan beat me to it. I recommend his fiction though I've only yet read some of his short fiction and not his novels. His novella "Westward the Course of Empire Makes its Way" is a gem (in this reader's opinion). I can't compare to Hunter S., but I can't imagine reading anything by Wallace and it "paling into insignificance". Wallace makes (Freudian slip [I think]) his readers work for their reward, but it's some reward. I've fallen in love with his command of and use of language and his ability to communicate with a precision I've yet to see rivaled. Even if his stuff isn't to your taste as a reader, you could do worse than to read him as a learning writer.


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## raindog308 (Dec 29, 2013)

Wow, I wouldn't recommend anything mentioned so far as similar to HST.

Which is not to say I'm right...perhaps if what you like about F&L in Las Vegas is HST's critique of America or his drug stories, then some of what's been recommended makes sense.  But to me, the most unique thing about HST is his blistering writing style.  I actually disagree with a lot of his ideas, even very core things about him, but F&L in Las Vegas is a great book.  Not because of its dopey preaching about American society but rather his inventive and amazing language.  He's also just incredibly funny - you laugh out loud a couple times a page.

The only thing like HST is other HST.  F&L on the Campaign Trail is similar, as are some of the stories in The Great Shark Hunt.  Before long, though, you get tired of it - it's the same stuff over and over and the same kind of writing over and over.  F&L in Las Vegas is really the only "great" Thompson and certainly the only essential.  His book on the Hell's Angels is very different and a more sober kind of journalism and is good in its own way, though very different than F&L in LV.

BTW, I hated the movie.  HST in the book is a wild romantic character.  In real life, he was a stumbling eccentric drunk.  Depp played him as he was in real life, which is not what I got from the book.

I don't think Kerouac would please.  On the  Road is arguably in the same phylum but not really...for one thing, it's culturally a generation previous and has a very different feel; for another, economy of motion was never Kerouac's strong suit.


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## OrigamiSweaterClub (Jan 22, 2014)

Michael Muhammad Knight is apparently the "Hunter S. Thompson of Islamic Literature". Possibly someone worth checking out


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