The Curse of Lono
by Hunter S. Thompson
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Book Summary Information
Author: Hunter S. ThompsonEditor: Steve Crist
Illustrator: Ralph Steadman
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-10-01
ISBN: 3822848972
Number of pages: 205
Publisher: Taschen
Book Reviews of The Curse of Lono
Book Review: Samoans, Claudes, and dope fiends, ye Gods!
Summary: 3 Stars
In 1779, Capt. James Cook, a British Explorer, stopped by the Hawaiian Islands to repair his ship and gather a few supplies. He was promptly clubbed, slaughtered, and as legend has it, eaten by a vicious tribe of islanders. Nearly two hundred years later, a world famous drug crazed journalist attempts to make the same journey in between battling the forces of nature, blowing things up, and covering a running marathon. And then later things get ugly. Now consider that this story (shaggy dog though it may be) is mostly nonfiction, and the incentive for running your greasy mitts through its pages becomes clear, though be warned that it may fade as you dive deeper into this newly reprinted, strange and terrible adventure.
Since this is a sequel of sorts to previous Gonzo sagas, perhaps it is expected that family and friends are presented as characters in it. While this might sound appealing and like a good opportunity to push some character development in, it serves more as an anchor to reality that drives a rift between the myth and man of Hunter S. Thompson more than anything else. For example, Ralph Steadman, the surrealistic illustrator of many of Thompson's works may work well as the frumpy comic relief, but on occasion he would say something that struck me as a little too wild, or not typical of an admittedly boring individual. It's not so much that I can't believe a well mannered character wouldn't overact after a string of stressful scenarios, but when he does he does it using signature vulgarities I'm already familiar with having read them in past books by the same author. This presents a fascinating look into an author's writing process as I can now see how he gauges himself in adding his own words when quoting others, but it also pulls me out of the story. In any case, this will only be a problem to those who have read books or articles by Steadman; otherwise you'll have no reason to believe anyone is putting anything into his mouth.
Even if Ralph Steadman doesn't always work as a character, as an artist he does well enough. With many drawings, I had to seriously restrain myself from taking an axe to them and then impaling them onto my wall, while others I would hardly consider worthy to be scribbled on a soiled dinner napkin. Unlike most other Thompson/Steadman collaborations, the illustrations in Curse of Lono are colored, and beautifully so. There is a wonderful contrast in many of the drawings between simple ink designs, and then fantastic, vibrant, and multi-hued colors with the occasional undertones of violence. They are a great compliment to Thompson's writing.
And compliments it needed since this work was admittedly written just for the money, and the lack of inspiration was overbearing for the seasoned reader of The Good Doctor. In past novels and material I believed the craziness of the characters and the language they used with the utmost ease and decadence, but this time around it looks like the same colorfully apocalyptic dialogue has been rehashed and injected into characters that were probably meeker than the author would like you to think. There's no actual evidence to support my claim, just an overall gut feeling that the author was putting more than a few lines into his own words. But even so there are also the excerpts from history books about the Last Voyage of Capt. Cook. I enjoyed reading these, but the manner in which they were cut and paste from their source and into this book struck me as a lazy way to integrate some history into the main story. Hunter makes the relevance of these articles clear later, but I still think I would have enjoyed it better had I gotten a look into what made the story of an old sea captain interesting to him in the first place.
But none of this is to say I didn't enjoy the book, just that its flaws are going to be more memorable than the standard HST fare writing to the Gonzo Diehard. If you haven't read a Thompson book before, dive right in and enjoy the warm water...which is actually a mix of LSD and Wild Goose liquor. And don't worry about the thing brushing against your leg since; it's probably just a marine iguana. Hunter's writing is bizarre beyond description, and is so visceral you'll know if you like it within a few pages. The first time reader will no doubt embrace the entire psychedelic experience with joy and then puzzlement as to why some bathroom floor piss soaked douche box only gave it three out of five stars on Amazon. I will maintain that Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is probably a better starting place for anyone looking to try this writer out, I consider it the definitive HST book, but there is great fun, learning, and more than a couple audible laughs to be had here. Buy the ticket, take the ride...or at least flip through it in a Barnes and Noble. You cheap swine.
Summary of The Curse of Lono
A wild ride to the dark side of Americana The Curse of Lono is to Hawaii what Fear and Loathing was to Las Vegas: the crazy tales of a journalist's "coverage" of a news event that ends up being a wild ride to the dark side of Americana. Originally published in 1983, Curse features all of the zany, hallucinogenic wordplay and feral artwork for which the Hunter S. Thompson/Ralph Steadman duo became known and loved. This curious book, considered an oddity among Hunter's oeuvre, was long out of print, prompting collectors to search high and low for an original copy. TASCHEN's signed, limited edition sold out before the book even hit the stores, but this unlimited version, in a different, smaller format, makes The Curse of Lono accessible to everyone.
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