Hell's Angels (novel)
In 1966, Hunter S. Thompson published the novel about the global motorcycle club Hells Angels by Random House . It was Thompson's first published book and his first attempt at a non-fictional novel. In 2004, Hell's Angels was first published in German by Heyne .
content
In a mixture of factual text and narrative , Thompson writes about the culture of bikers and their public perception or the club's internal public perception, as well as about his own experiences during the time he accompanied the club.
He cites reports from newspapers and magazines to back up his statements. The passive reporting of facts alternates with stories from active participation, or is blurred with them. For example, Thompson takes part in the Bass Lake Run and, in order to counteract the events, incorporates reports from newspapers on which he comments.
He not only talks about the parties of the clubs, but also about internal matters, such as the so-called mums or alleged rapes in which members are said to have been involved. He reports both from the moments with Angels and from his journalistic perspective, in which he is critical of bikers and the reporting in the major US newspapers.
The epigraph of the book is the Ballade du concours de Blois by François Villon .
"In my country I am in a distant place,
I am mighty, all power and strength but only,
always win, always lose,
say early in the day: 'God give you good night!'
, Lying on my back, I'm afraid of falling."
Origin and Creation
Thompson wrote the article "The Motorcycle Gangs: Losers and Outsiders" for The Nation May 17, 1965 issue. He then received book offers from several publishers interested in further research on the subject. He spent the next year preparing the book near the Hells Angels , in particular spending time with the local chapters in San Bernardino and Oakland and with club president Sonny Barger .
Thompson had informed the Angels that he was a journalist . He was introduced to their ranks by Birney Jarvis, a former member and then a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle . This recommendation enabled him to get very close to the club and record long interviews with his tape recorder. Members of the club read his drafts to be sure what he said was correct.
Relations with the Hells Angels fell apart when some members brutally beat Thompson. At this point he ended the collaboration. He later noted in letters that the Angels involved in the brawl were not the ones he dealt with while researching his book.
Effect and criticism
Hell's Angels was the book that brought Thompson to a career as a writer. By this time, however, he had already published a number of articles for various journals and newspapers and was recognized as a journalist. The book was his first publication for a national audience.
Reviews of the book have been largely positive, and despite a pretty bad publicity tour, it sold pretty well. A New York Times Book Review wrote about the book: "A deep look into a world that most of us will never enter."
Thompson's account of gang rape by radical feminist Susan Brownmiller in her book Against Our Will received particular criticism . Rape and Male Rule 1975.
Individual evidence
- ^ Hunter S. Thompson: Motorcycle Gangs: Losers and Outsiders . In: The nation . May 17, 1965 ( thenation.com ).
- ↑ a b c Leo E. Litwak: On the Wild Side . In: New York Times . January 29, 1967 ( nytimes.com ).
- ^ "Hunter Thompson has presented us with a close view of a world most of us would never dare encounter, yet one with which we should be familiar." Leo E. Litwak: On the Wild Side . In: New York Times . January 29, 1967 ( nytimes.com ).