Short description
'The Rum Diary', the story of a drunken young journalist, is Thompson's only work of fiction.
Long description
Paul Kemp has moved from New York to the steamy heat of Puerto Rico to work at the Daily News. He starts hanging out at Al's Backyard, a local den selling booze and hamburgers to vagrant journalists who are mostly crazy drunks on the verge of quitting. Then he meets Yeamon, whose delectable girlfriend has Kemp stewing in his own lust. But the idle tension that builds up in places where men sweat twenty-four hours a day is reaching a violent breaking point.
Review
'Remarkable - a genuine, 100% proof discovery of great literary importance' Mail on Sunday 'Hilarious, utterly real and tragic ... A lithe, well-crafted gem of a novel which leaves the reader disturbed and grinning in a way that makes people sitting nearby change seats' Scotland on Sunday 'Crackling, twisted, searing, paced to a deft prose rhythm ... a shot of Gonzo with a rum chaser' San Francisco Chronicle 'Wild, witty, angry, cynical and sarcastic ... A funny book that will make your life seem boring by comparison' Scene