• Blog
  • Bio
  • Tunes
  • Travels
  • Journalism
  • Wisdom
  • Diversions
  • Cool Guitars
Guitar Dad

Gonzo in the Islands

3/4/2009

1 Comment

 

As an admirer of Hunter S. Thompson most of my life, I was severely delighted recently to discover that he'd written a Fear and Loathing-style book about the Hawaiian Islands.
 
I was pretty sure I'd read everything he'd written, or at least knew about everything. Not so. This book, copiously illustrated by the writer's longtime collaborator Ralph Steadman, was published in 1983 but quickly went out of print. Which makes no sense, because The Curse of Lono is probably Thompson's most enjoyable work.
 
After seeing a number of used copies for sale online for $50 and up, I finally found one for $12.50 at a bookshop in Reno, Nev. It arrived last week and I promptly devoured the sucker. You see, I absolutely love Hawaii and will be forever haunted by its immense beauty and spirit. And I hold in especially high regard Thompson's nearly psychotic and most certainly artificially stimulated approach to journalism. The Curse of Lono combines all of that madness and much, much more.


The Curse of Lono is no love letter to Hawaii, mind you. Early in the book Thompson sets the tone by calling the islands "this harsh little maze of volcanic zits out here in the middle of the Pacific Ocean."

Thompson and his travel partners, in the islands to cover the Honolulu Marathon for a sports magazine, encounter incessantly terrible weather and a series of sordid mishaps that turn expectations of a laid-back vacation into a severe case of raw nerves and, well, fear and loathing. Here's a snapshot:
 
"They call it 'Kona Weather'; gray skies and rough seas, hot rain in the morning and mean drunks at night, bad weather for coke fiends and boat people. A huge ugly cloud hangs over the island at all times, and this goddamn filthy sea pounds relentlessly up on the rocks in front of my porch. The bastard never sleeps or even rests; it just keeps coming, rolling, booming, slamming down on the rocks with a force that shudders the house every two or three minutes."

He describes the treacherous ocean around the Big Island as "Forty thousand feet deep in some places, within sight of the Kona Coast. Eight miles straight down, like falling off a cliff. It would take a long time for a body to sink eight miles down to the ocean floor. It is pitch-black down there, absolute darkness. Not even sharks swim that deep. But they will probably get you on the way down, somewhere in that hazy blue level around 300 feet, where the light begins to fade. Bobbing around on a boat the size of a pickup truck in 40,000 feet of blue water is not a good place to get weird with anybody, much less the captain of the boat. Or even a deckhand. Nobody at all."
 
For me, unearthing this book felt like making the acquaintance of a long, lost friend. An exceptionally entertaining but dangerous, totally wacked-out friend.

1 Comment
Vintagegibson link
7/15/2010 01:01:26 am

The illustration piece is really interesting.Got a "fear and loathing" feel to it.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    THIS WEBSITE

    Levelheaded perspectives on
    music, fatherhood, travel,
    writing, the good life and other pressing matters.
    More >

    MY SONGS

    Click here for a selection of
    Guitar Dad's recordings.


    MY VIDEOS

    Click here for Guitar Dad's
    YouTube Channel.



    POSTS OF NOTE

    Blues in the News
    Suburban Anglers
    Pondering Pollock
    Authentic Orlando
    Kudos for Guitar Dad
    Hard to Get
    Jazz Genius
    School Pizza
    Gonzo in the Islands
    Poppin' Wheelies
    Cosmic Curiosity
    Master Wordsmith
    Kiddie Concert
    Aging Skate Rat
    Bukowski's Back
    Greatest Rock Bands

    ESSENTIAL SOUNDS

    Picture

     

    REQUISITE LIT

    Picture

     

     SIGHTS TO SEE

    Picture

    Rocky Mountain
    ​National Park

     

    ARCHIVES

    December 2020
    September 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009
    October 2009
    September 2009
    August 2009
    July 2009
    June 2009
    May 2009
    April 2009
    March 2009
    February 2009
    January 2009
    December 2008
    November 2008
    October 2008
    September 2008
    August 2008
    July 2008
    June 2008

     

    RSS Feed

     

    Find Guitar Dad on Facebook.



Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.