The Rum Diary cover art

The Rum Diary

A Novel

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The Rum Diary

By: Hunter S. Thompson
Narrated by: Christopher Lane
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About this listen

Begun in 1959 by a 22-year-old Hunter S. Thompson, The Rum Diary is a brilliantly tangled love story of jealousy, treachery, and violent alcoholic lust in the Caribbean boomtown that was San Juan, Puerto Rico, in the late 1950s. The narrator, freelance journalist Paul Kemp, irresistibly drawn to a sexy, mysterious woman, is soon thrust into a world where corruption and get-rich-quick schemes rule and anything (including murder) is permissible. Exuberant and mad, youthful and energetic, this dazzling comedic romp provides a fictional excursion as riveting and outrageous as Thompson's Fear and Loathing books.

©1999 Hunter S. Thompson (P)2011 Simon & Schuster Classics Crime Fiction Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Crime Exciting Caribbean Run Diary

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Critic reviews

“Crackling, twisted, searing, paced to a deft prose rhythm.... A shot of Gonzo with a rum chaser.” ( San Francisco Chronicle)
“Enough booze to float a yacht and enough fear and loathing to sink it.” ( New York Daily News)
“A great and an unexpected joy.... Reveals a young Hunter Thompson brimming with talent.” ( The Philadelphia Inquirer)
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A fine first novel and so fine novel on any account, the pre Gonzo hunter bug it's there lurking unnamed in the shadows and the empty glasses.

Much underrated

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A lurching vision of a bygone time when dialogue mattered, and men were men. A dizzying first hand slice of US imperialism, wrapped in hamburgers and drenched in rum. If anyone drank as much as Paul Kemp these days they would be locked up for everyone elses safety. Hunter S Thompson's prose is delightful and satiric, peppered with dry similes. I wish people still conversed like this

Frantic and mesmerising

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really good however it takes some time to get started. Well worth a read though

Interesting...

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The person who is narrating the story sounds very amateur. I have listened to the recordings from Dracula from Livrebox and one of the voices sounds very familiar. The difference between audible and livrebox website is that here I am paying. I am paying because the first few books I got were with extraordinary quality, one such book is Vanity fair, amazing narrator. I thought that all the recordings were of high standard, Unfortunately, I must admit that my expectations with this particular book (as well as the Republic, Plato) have not been met.
Some of the interpretations/impressions had even a crippling effect on me due to the tone of the voice, not very theatrical; it was like nails scratching on a board! I was getting nervous when listening to it and it made me, initially, not like the book. I did reread the book and I must say it was very good, witty and clever little writing. Although, the author of the book is famous for his quirky talent, the recording does not match the writing style at all.
I am very disappointed.

Sounds very amateur

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Well written, but a story about vapid misogynistic white men moaning about problems of their own creation.

Leaves a bad taste in the mouth

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