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Content snapshot
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Violence
Some
Some violence; a car crash; brawls; nothing graphic
Language
A lot
Strong profanity throughout; Thompson's voice is incurably profane
Sexual Content
Some
Adult sexual encounters; clear but not explicit
Substance Use
A lot
Heavy and constant drinking is the novel's central activity; Thompson's alcoholism as texture
Emotional Intensity
Some
Disillusionment and the gradual erosion of purpose and idealism
What this book is about
Paul Kemp, an American journalist, arrives in Puerto Rico to work for a struggling English-language newspaper and descends into the island's dissolute expatriate culture—drinking, scheming, and watching his journalistic ideals corrode. Hunter S. Thompson's early novel is autobiographical and rawer than his gonzo work, but the voice and the drinking are already fully present.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
Heavy drinking throughout
Strong profanity in Thompson's voice
Reader Verification
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