The story behind this book is possibly more interesting than the book itself—15 years ago Hunter printed a limited run of 300 collector copies and 26 leather-bound presentation copies to give to friends and associates. The book grew in legend amongst HST fans and, finally, all these years later it has been released. It doesn’t disappoint but it also doesn’t seem to earn the deserved fanfare. Screwjack is comprised of three short stories; one titled the same as the book, one entitled Mescalito and the other Death of a Poet. The latter is a very short account of exactly what the title describes and is surprisingly sparse for the collection. Screwjack tells the tale, on the surface at least, of a love affair between HST’s alter-ego and a giant jungle cat, sex and all.
It’s typical Thompson fare, and by typical I mean outstanding prose, savage language and subject matter that challenges your conventions and your imagination.
My favourite of the three, however, is Mescalito, a rambling first-person account of Hunter’s first experimentation with Mescaline. The result is a long and entertaining insight into drug use and the horse-like fortitude Thompson had for illicit substances. I find myself even now wanting to go back and read it, possibly while sampling a little mescaline myself. Overall, the collection is more than worth it for any fan of HST. Just don’t buy into the hype surrounding it. Hunter wouldn’t have. – Mike Berard
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