Letters from Hunter

The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman 1955-1967

Hunter S. Thompson’s letters are said to be superior to his other books. I’m unconvinced. I think the world of his 1972 campaign book, as reporting goes. The Las Vegas book is less inviting. It’s too obviously fictitious, not in a good way, and repetitive. The pretended acting out quickly gets tiresome. I’ve put it aside.

I read that HST always made carbon copies of his letters, with an eye to posterity. I find this weird, as if a letter is not really addressed to the party to whom it is sent. Of course this is an ancient literary tradition.

It is true that a blog is also addressed to the world, but with two differences. It is impersonal, not aimed at an individual, and as an online thing it is not necessarily expected to endure for the ages. It is more like a community, and communities do not publish transcripts of their conversations. It is possible to back up a blog for future publication, but I’ve never seen that done. Backups of my own blog are lost in the chaos of my storage.

I doubt I will continue with the letters. There are too many superior alternatives.