San Juan, Winter of 1958, Summary

The Rum Diary is Hunter S. Thompson's first novel. Written when he was still honing his skills, this novel shows peeks of the brilliant musical writing style Thompson would become known for later in his career. The plot showcases a young writer who finds himself in the virgin territory of San Juan, Puerto Rico, writing for a paper that is months from going under. This writer, Paul Kemp, comes to Puerto Rico with the hope of finding adventure, but instead finds love, jealousy, and violence, all pickled in rum. It is a volatile story that will please Thompson's new and old fans alike.

In the early fifties when San Juan became a tourist town, a man named Al turned his patio into a bar. Al served nothing but beer and rum at first, later adding hamburgers to...