The Curse of Lono
Recommended Reading by Jered Standing
The Curse of Lono
By Hunter S. Thompson and Ralph Steadman
($49.99, Taschen)
I reluctantly purchased my copy of LONO after a several-week-long back and forth about whether or not I would give it a chance at all. As a long-time follower of the legendary gonzo journalist, I had a high degree of anxiety about reading something of his that would, in all likelihood, mar my opinion of both him and his work. With his books now printed and reprinted each year, and new books that were released as recently as 2004, why had this one been out of print for so long? The original edition of LONO was published in 1983; it didn’t sell many copies then, and has since been out of print for more than a decade. Why?
Oh well, I thought. We all make mistakes. It was now time for me to read through one of Hunter S. Thompson’s.
Before actually sitting down to read it, I spent the better portion of my evening trying to prepare myself for a disappointment that, ultimately, would not come.
As is always the case with Thompson’s writing, the reader is immediately hurled into the action. It’s possible to feel what it must have been like to be there. And “there,” in Thompson’s world, can be a strange and terrible place.
What starts off as a tight, coherent, sports journalism account of the 1980 Honolulu Marathon quickly spirals into Thompson’s signature shitstorm of wild scrawl and relentless ranting about all manner of bad craziness. Typhoon-like storms with 50-foot waves, crashing, heaving huge piles of driftwood and jagged black volcanic rock far inland. Fishless fishing trips. Chinese Thunder-Bombs. A drunken sea captain. And all the while drink, drink, drink. Add to this the usual myriad of mind altering chemicals and you’ve got a truly Thompsonesque tale, perfectly accented and made complete by Ralph Steadman’s spray-paint and India ink slap dashery.
And while it is true that almost all of the 52 illustrations by Steadman may be found in various collections of his work already in print, they are far more disturbing-God, I hope most of those terrifying scenes didn’t actually happen!-when placed alongside the insane jabbering of a drug-addled maniac believing himself to be the reincarnation of LONO (the Hawaiian god of excess and abundance).
Amidst the confusion, one finds a scattering of ancient Hawaiian lore and superstition, journal entries from Captain James Cook’s visit to the islands in the mid 1800s, as well as social, political, and economic commentary about Hawaiian culture in the early 1980s.
I found this new edition of the Thompson rarity-beautifully laid out, if not somewhat cumbersome (12″ x 16″ hardcover)-a welcome and worthy addition to my home library. And a strong recommendation to any HST reader or Steadman enthusiast.