Wed* ay12, 1993 -The Mdigm alySurm Weddy-9
BOOKS
lb
Hunter: The Strange and
Savage Life of Hunter S.
Thompson
by E. Jean Carroll
Penguin Books
By DANCY LOCKNAM
For the biography of Hunter Stock-
ton'Thompson to bewritten in a tradi-
tional format would be acontradiction
in itself. Far from traditional himself,
the drug-ridden, "gonzo" journalist
author of "Fear and Loathing in Las
Vegas" would be nothing less than
outraged were an aspiring biographer
to pen the story ofhis life starting with,
"Hunter S. Thompson was born in
June ofl1935," or something of the sort.
With this in mind, E. Jean Carroll
*sets out to make Thompson proud,
producing "Hunter. The Strange and
Savage Lfeof Hunter S. Thompson."
As to Carroll's success, well, lf Th-
ompson were dead, as his doctors say
he shoud have been years ago, he'dhbe
rolling over in his grave. just about
now.Ormayhehe'dhereaching outto
pat Carroll on the back for creativity.
It's hard to say with Thompson.
Carrollhbegins thebiography under
*the pretense of having discovered notes
about'Ihompson in the armnsof Laetitia
Snap. Every other chapter of the book,
then, is Ms. Snap's narrative of her
fictional escapades with Thompson.
Written to mimic HSTs style, these
chapters read like a female version of ma
"Fear and Loathing:" Carroll writes, sj
"He rolled thietop down. Then he put R
his arm around me, and in addition, he dr
had themostheautifulbloodshotbrown al
eyesyoueversaw.Oh,thoseeyeswere le
perfect mud poois! And thick, hairync
black eyebrowsikeahawkowl.Ionly hi
noticed them after the four or five
sucks on the marijuana pipe:"
Although amusing in light of the
fact that Carroll does the Thompson
impersonation so well, like a typical
"Saturday NightLive'skit, the bit gets
old real fast. This portion of the book,
no matter how outrageous and cre-
ative, wears on the nerves. Give Carroll
the credit dueher for taking arisk with
thisoriginabiographicalmethodThen
skip these chapters, the odd numhered
ones, in effortto learnsomething about
the life of Thompson.
Whlle this bit does not make the
book worth even checking out of the
library, the intervening chapters (the
even numbered ones) warrant its read-
ing by any true Thompson buff. In this
portion of the biography, Carroll takes
another innovative, yet fortunately
more appealing approach. Rather than
simply narrate the life of Thompson
from event to event, Carroll includes
portions of newspaper articles about
HST as well as wide ranging excerpts
from herown interviews with Thomp-
son, his friends, his family and just
bout everyone who ever had contact
vith this infamous writer.
Through the quotes, Card lreveals
helayers of Thompson's life through
nany dlfferent eyes, insa way that a
Ingle voicebiographyould never do.
eading these quotes feels lice eaves-
h ping on HST's friends and getting
11 the dirt in the process. What we
=nmabout Thompson is enthrallinglif
ot surprising: that he was abusive in
us personal relationships, that he had
a difficult childhood, that many n-
siftrhim oneof the truestof tneNew
Journalists. Still, the way Canuol re-
veals his life makes these chapters cap-
tivating. She obviously didherresearch
and the work pays off
"Hunter The Strange and Savage
Llfe of Hunter S. Thompson" braids
two books into one, and in orderto
make it through the gond parts a bit of
unbraiding becomes necessary. Un-
tangle abitof Camrll's stab at ouiginal-
ity n the form ofone Laedda Snap and
read the rest
But don't he too hard on Carrol.
She is onlytakingthe advice offerer! y
herhero'sthekxricalquestion"Whois
the hapierm, he ohbraved t
stcam of life and lived, orbhe whobhas
stayedsecureiyontheshomdmerely
existed?" Still, one can't heiphutob-
serve that Carrlimighthave been abit
better off sticking somewhat closer to
the shore.
SHARON WIAM TOM
STONE xBERENGER
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Thompson in an alarmingly dragfree moment of repose.