You can use your CW MARS card to borrow titles from these partner libraries:
2 of 2 copies available
Now Juan Thompson tells the story of his father and of their getting to know each other during their forty-one fraught years together. He writes of the many dark times, of how far they ricocheted away from each other, and of how they found their way back before it was too late.
He writes of growing up in an old farmhouse in a narrow mountain valley outside of Aspen—Woody Creek, Colorado, a ranching community with Hereford cattle and clover fields . . . of the presence of guns in the house, the boxes of ammo on the kitchen shelves behind the glass doors of the country cabinets, where others might have placed china and knickknacks . . . of climbing on the back of Hunter’s Bultaco Matador trail motorcycle as a young boy, and father and son roaring up the dirt road, trailing a cloud of dust . . . of being taken to bars in town as a small boy, Hunter holding court while Juan crawled around under the bar stools, picking up change and taking his found loot to Carl’s Pharmacy to buy Archie comic books . . . of going with his parents as a baby to a Ken Kesey/Hells Angels party with dozens of people wandering around the forest in various stages of undress, stoned on pot, tripping on LSD . . .
He writes of his growing fear of his father; of the arguments between his parents reaching frightening levels; and of his finally fighting back, trying to protect his mother as the state troopers are called in to separate father and son. And of the inevitable—of mother and son driving west in their Datsun to make a new home, a new life, away from Hunter; of Juan’s first taste of what “normal” could feel like . . .
We see Juan going to Concord Academy, a stranger in a strange land, coming from a school that was a log cabin in the middle of hay fields, Juan without manners or socialization . . . going on to college at Tufts; spending a crucial week with his father; Hunter asking for Juan’s opinion of his writing; and he writes of their dirt biking on a hilltop overlooking Woody Creek Valley, acting as if all the horrible things that had happened between them had never taken place, and of being there, together, side by side . . .
And finally, movingly, he writes of their long, slow pull toward reconciliation . . . of Juan’s marriage and the birth of his own son; of watching Hunter love his grandson and Juan’s coming to understand how Hunter loved him; of Hunter’s growing illness, and Juan’s becoming both son and father to his father . . .
-
Creators
-
Publisher
-
Release date
January 5, 2016 -
Formats
-
Kindle Book
-
OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781101875865
- File size: 41207 KB
-
EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781101875865
- File size: 41303 KB
-
-
Languages
- English
-
Reviews
-
October 1, 2015
The son of the legendary gonzo journalist recalls his turbulent but exciting years swimming in the wake of a most mercurial creature. Thompson fils identifies himself only as a "computer guy" in this debut, and he comments early about the unreliability of memory. He also warns us that his account includes some "outright lies," but which tales are they? The author, born in 1964, embraces chronology and begins with a sketch of his father's youth (he calls him "Hunter" throughout). He also asserts that his father was "one of the great American writers," so we understand what sort of museum we're visiting. The author does not smooth over the rough fabric of his father's life: he was smoking, drinking, and taking cocaine virtually to the end. He was temperamental, ignored his son often, and enjoyed numerous women. But he loved the outdoors, shooting (he would kill himself with one of his pistols in 2005; the author found his body), and, of course, writing. The author shows us a hardworking writer, dedicated to his craft. Thompson pere did not, as the son reminds us, take more than a few college courses and told his son that the only thing college was good for was having four years to read. (This author, fond of the remark, quotes it three times.) There are many "daddy issues" here, as well, and the author tries to convince us that the birth of Thompson's grandson]though initially a tough thing for him to accept]became a tremendous influence on the family coherence that ensued. A few celebrities wander through]notably, singer Jimmy Buffett and film star Johnny Depp, who portrayed Thompson in the film version of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. Shows clearly the occasional horrors of living with a substance-abusing celebrity but is also suffused with filial love and regret.COPYRIGHT(2015) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
-
March 1, 2016
"This is a memoir, not a biography," writes the author and son of the late gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson (Hell's Angels; Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), and he means it. The younger Thompson's fast-paced book hews closely to chronological memories of his father and his childhood and adolescent home on "Owl Farm" in Woody Creek, CO, rather than delving deeply into the elder Thompson's life or his notorious works. The author keeps his father--whom he calls "Hunter" throughout--at some distance, and sees in him a sharp duality. Hunter, "that beast in Aspen," is an "alcoholic, drug addict, and a hell-raiser," prone to eruptions of anger and rage. In the end, though, the author ultimately finds tenderness and understanding in Hunter, sometimes in the very things that made his father wild, such as his guns, the cleaning of which "became a bonding ritual between us that lasted up until the day of his death." VERDICT Thompson fans seeking intimate and precise details of his writing process or creative life will want to look elsewhere. Here they will find a touching and honest portrait of an often flawed father. [See Prepub Alert, 7/13/15.]--Doug Diesenhaus, Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
-
August 1, 2015
Want an insider's view of Hunter S. Thompson, whose over-the-top sensibility, hunger for bald truth, and distinctive way of delivering not just news but news process gave us gonzo journalism? Look no further than this memoir from his only son, who portrays a father both idealistic and irresponsible from whom he was sometimes estranged. Rounded out with insights from friends like Jann Wenner, Bill Murray, and Johnny Depp.
Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
-