Made into a major motion picture starring Johnny Depp, The Rum Diary—a national bestseller and New York Times Notable Book—is Hunter S. Thompson’s brilliant love story of jealousy, treachery, and violent lust in the Caribbean.
Begun in 1959 by a twenty-two-year-old Hunter S. Thompson, The Rum Diary is a brilliantly tangled love story of jealousy, treachery, and violent alcoholic lust in the Caribbean boomtown that was San Juan, Puerto Rico, in the late 1950s. The narrator, freelance journalist Paul Kemp, irresistibly drawn to a sexy, mysterious woman, is soon thrust into a world where corruption and get-rich-quick schemes rule, and anything (including murder) is permissible. Exuberant and mad, youthful and energetic, this dazzling comedic romp provides a fictional excursion as riveting and outrageous as Thompson’s Fear and Loathing books.
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"The beginning of Gonzo. 1960 San Juan, Puerto Rico. Our reporter Kemp (Thompson) arrives at a failing English-language newspaer that is full of degenerates, thieves, drunks, con-men, wheelers and dealers, and thieves. Of course, written in Thompson's quirky, funny style. There are some similarities to the movie that was released but definitely doesn't do the book full justice. And yes, there is a lot of rum-related debauchery in this book."
— Jer (4 out of 5 stars)
“Throughout The Rum Diary, Thompson flashes signs of the vitriol that would later be turned loose on society.”
— USA Today“Enough booze to float a yacht and enough fear and loathing to sink it.”
— New York Daily News“At the core of this hard-drinking, hard-talking, hard-living man is a moralist, Puritan, even an innocent. The Rum Diary gives us this side of him without apology…with a kind of pride.”
— Washington Post Book World“Crackling, twisted, searing, paced to a deft prose rhythm…a shot of Gonzo with a rum chaser.”
— San Francisco Chronicle“A great and unexpected joy…reveals a young Hunter Thompson brimming with talent.”
— Philadelphia Inquirer“A remarkably full and mature first novel…a languid and lovingly executed book that reveals its emotional depths slowly.”
— Salon" Wow, I didn't know Puerto Rico was so wild! "
— Derick, 2/3/2014" Hunter S. Thompson does his best Ernest Hemmingway impersonation, but falls well short of the mark. The protagonist is thoroughly unlikeable and the plot is thin at best. Lots of drinking though, makes me feel like a teetotaler in comparison. "
— Phil, 1/27/2014" Great, quick read. A splash of Gonzo, which is absent entirely in Hell's Angels. Very different from the movie, which surprised me. Perfect Gonzo introduction to HST. "
— JoYo, 1/24/2014" Loved it -- paints a distorted, gorgeous picture of San Juan similar to the depiction of Paris by Hemingway in The Sun Also Rises. "
— Blank_postcard, 1/13/2014" Really enjoyed this raucous romp through San Juan. I read it with going to watch the new movie in mind and it was very easy to visualize Johnny Depp playing Paul Kemp's character, almost like it was written for him. Short and painless, entertaining book. "
— Joe, 1/10/2014" Scandalous! Makes me slightly more appreciative of the relative calm (and sobriety) of the Herald newsroom. Don't think I could keep up with the incredible quantities of rum consumed in this book. I liked the characters for the most part. They were more than your average one-dimensional, predictable characters, though mostly they were pretty tragic. Overall, an entertaining read. "
— Ingrid, 1/10/2014" Winding and crazy and lazy and bored. "
— Samanthaacquisto, 12/30/2013" Awesome book, have read it twice. Read this with Johhny Depp's voice in your head as narration, it totally makes it. "
— Katherine, 12/30/2013" Lots of perfect quotes for Americans experiencing life in Latin America...particularly the Peace Corps? "
— Addie, 11/8/2013" A great read. Captivating throughout. Reminded me of a F Scott Fitzgerald novel "
— Anton, 10/24/2013" Smart and quick. Can't wait to see what they do with the movie. "
— Maire1975, 10/18/2013Hunter S. Thompson (1937–2005) was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. His books on politics and society were regarded as groundbreaking among journalists, and he was celebrated as one of the early practitioners of an outraged, irreverent form of highly subjective journalism that became known as gonzo journalism. His numerous articles for Rolling Stone and books like Hell’s Angels and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas brought him wide recognition and cultlike status.
Campbell Scott has, in addition to his numerous stage and film credits, narrated more than forty audiobooks, including This Boy’s Life and Into Thin Air, and won seven AudioFile Earphones Awards.