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Book Review of The Rum Diary

The First Novel from Gonzo Legend Hunter S Thompson

Oct 10, 2008 Philip Copple

Thompson's debut novel appears a semi-autobiographical book, based on his experiences in Puerto Rico.The novel explores the author's own fears of aging.

An entertaining depiction of life working for a small newspaper in sweat-soaked Puerto Rico, The Rum Diary closely mirrors Thompson’s early career and has been labelled a semi-autobiographical book. Having taken a series of journalism jobs in Puerto Rico in his youth, Thompson knows first hand how the illusion of the island paradise can be stripped away, exposing the corruption and discontent underneath.

The Rum Diary portrays the misadventures of Paul Kemp, a thirty-something journalist who has taken a job at the San Juan Daily News for want of anything better. Kemp glides through his life in a rum-fuelled haze, encountering a series of typically Thompson characters – exaggerated and possibly insane. These include the embittered Sala; the dangerous Yeamon; and the beautiful Chenault, Yeamon’s girlfriend and the object of Kemp’s desire.

The three men spend the majority of their time in a local dive called Al’s Backyard, a bar that serves only rum, beer, and hamburgers. These are to prove the staple diet of Thompson’s characters, a fact that helps to explain the chaotic actions that litter The Rum Diary.

Thompson's Darker Side to Puerto Rico

San Juan could be seen as an idyllic home, making the discontent of Kemp’s colleagues all the harder to comprehend. However, as time goes by the fantasy of the town gets eroded and the Thompson presents the darker truth. The Daily News stands constantly on the brink of liquidation, the staff are uneasy over the state of their jobs and the locals detest the presence of American interlopers.

This precarious state of affairs throws Kemp into a downward spiral, and whilst the “voodoo orgy of murder, sex and craziness” promised on the novel’s blurb never quite materialises, Kemp does find himself in increasingly more psychotic surroundings.

The Rum Diary demonstrates Thompson's fear of Aging

The novel is marred by frequent outbreaks of violence, varying in their scale and influence. These, however, pale in significance to the conflict erupting within Kemp’s own body as he tries to reconcile himself to the prospect of aging. This is portrayed most notably as Kemp wonders how his life’s experience has helped him as he sits around “trying to decide if I was getting older and wiser, or just plain old.” Despite being in his early twenties when writing the novel, much of The Rum Diary appears to be based around the author's fears of aging.

As opposed to other works by Thompson, The Rum Diary doesn’t run at a break-neck pace. Despite the energy of the characters the significant events of the novel happen slowly, if inevitably. Whilst The Rum Diary could have been a tale of settling down in a foreign land, indeed at one point it appears as though it might be, it instead becomes more of a warning, a caution against pinning your hopes on an elusive dream.

The Rum Diary. Simon & Schuster. 1999. 0684856476

The copyright of the article Book Review of The Rum Diary in American Fiction is owned by Philip Copple. Permission to republish Book Review of The Rum Diary in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

The Rum Diary