The Joke's Over

A few days ago, I finished reading Ralph Steadman's book "The Joke's Over." The 2006 book is a memoir of sorts, chronicling Steadman's professional and personal relationship with the late writer Hunter S. Thompson.

The book begins very slowly and seemed very disappointing at first. Essentially, the first chapter discusses how Steadman and Thompson were first assigned to each other and met for their first assignment at the 1970 Kentucky Derby. This was disappointing because this meeting and event was already covered by Thompson in the article "The Kentucky Derby Is Decadent and Depraved."

But after that, Steadman's narrative changes a bit and focuses more on telling anecdotal stories about times he spent with Thompson, filming documentaries or preparing books together. Steadman's book seems like a "Behind-the-Scenes" feature or "Collaborator's Commentary" to Thompson's writings. Steadman gives us a bit more context and material to consider, clarifying much of what was distorted in Thompson's articles (or, perhaps, considering Steadman's art, distorting them further).

Although Thompson usually presented himself as an invincible embodiment of freedom and masculinity, Steadman's book shows Thompson as being much more human and fallible. There is an extensive section which discuss his painful attempts to write about the Honolulu Marathon, which eventually lead to his personal and internal struggles trying to complete "The Curse of Lono." Although Steadman and Thompson were collaborators on the Lono book, Steadman makes it clear that Thompson made it a difficult book to complete, and strained their relationship. Although their personal relationship continued until Thompson's suicide in 2005, it is clear that their professional collaborations essentially ended after the Lono experiment.

Steadman's book on Thompson is weakened mainly by the fact that, in all truth, their work and time spent together was relatively limited, and that their collaborations were often just one of many projects Steadman on which Steadman was working. Significant portions of the book are spent discussing his other projects and events only tangentially related to Thompson. Which would be fine, except the book was clearly marketed (even to the point of the subtitle: "Bruised Memories: Gonzo, Hunter S. Thompson, and Me) as being about Steadman's work with the late writer.

It is evident, from reading, though, that Steadman was not, in any way, trying to leech off Thompson's death or to profit from his pain. His tone, when writing of Thompson, is usually tender and kind, and occasionally bittersweet. He is reflecting upon the life of a unique man, with whom he worked regularly. And, put simply, it is often touching.

Lastly, I want to share one passage of the book which particularly struck me. It comes from Steadman's journal of their time in Hawaii, working on the Lono book. They have visited a ancient Hawaiian sacred temple, and decided not to disturb it (except to take a quick picture).

"The most important thing about being in the City of Refuge is simply that you are there, steeped in the blackness and fanned by the waving palms, surrounded by stories far, more significant than ours. They are stories that speak with authority, tried and tested and passed down from father to son and mother to daughter. We had no story to tell there. There are no stories to tell gods. They know them all. We need only to listen and look. Their stories are everywhere. Carved grimacing faces shout truths that never change and stand as irrefutable proof of what no longer survives outside this sacred place." (222)

That may have been Thompson's problem all along...