Thomas Wolfe is probably best known for Bonfire of the Vanities, a satirical piece, which was also made into a film starring Tom Hanks.

This is rather a departure from those that only know him for that title. In this, Wolfe provides an account of a profilic supporter of acid, a writer with superb intellect that is Ken Kesey. For those not in the know, Kesey is probably best known for his book One Flew Over a Cuckoo’s Nest – an account of the brutality of one Nurses attempt to keep control within a mental asylum, and one man’s attempt to get out of his hell hole by taking time in the mental asylum assuming all would be ok and plain sailing.

The book was based on Kesey’s own experience of working in a mental ward, and the Nurse was far from fiction, providing a frightening reality to a situation that one can only experience themselves.

Kesey was a keen supporter of acid, often writing and living his life while under the influence. He was intelligent and had a forward thinking attitude to life. During one moment, he had an ambition, a journey which he hoped to go through – an end to something and beginning to something else. He called it going “beyond acid”. His belief was that taking acid opened the doors to a heaven, but instead of going in and out, we should be able to control that moment and make it last forever, without the need for any induced process triggered by chemicals ingested or otherwise.

taking acid opened the doors to a heaven, but instead of going in and out, we should be able to control that moment and make it last forever

Wolfe writes an incredible account of Kesey’s journey across America, looking for ways to achieve his goal, finding and losing people along the way and providing a vivid and detailed account of an LSD trip.

As Wolfe was not present at all times, he has taken accounts from several people, including those who took the journey and then left as they felt no rason to continue, or found no substance in what was happening – they were happy where they were and chose not to go beyond acid.

Indeed, the story is a sad one – as Kesey stops writing, becoming a fugitive on the run, paranoid and stoned for most of the time, with no understanding of where he is going, except that he is going with the flow – whatever happens, happens.

For some this book could be seen as a promoter for acid – in some ways yes, and in some ways no. You see both the good and the bad, as many become paranoid and delusional, or just feel it is not for them. It’s an honest account, and also an honest view of Ken Kesey, what happened to him, and why anyone should care. He created a movement which in the circumstances failed – but also succeeded.

a harrowing journey at times, but all the more real as sometimes nothing makes sense as the writing becomes abstract

If you have not taken acid yourself, then in many ways reading this book will be your first experience, as it is descriptive enough (as a user myself in the past) to give a glimpse into the world. If you have already, then you will be able to relate to what happened, the ups and downs and so on.

You feel for Kesey and his journey, you taste the air, you smell the fear, you sometimes wonder about his judgement and why he does what he does. It’s a harrowing journey at times, but all the more real as sometimes nothing makes sense as the writing becomes abstract and incoherent.

This is a beautiful book and a wonderful account of one man’s journey to change the world, to move the world away from acid to something more spiritual – or perhaps it was acid experience without the acid, and therefore not spiritual? Along the way we meet those that probably influenced Kesey’s writing with the likes of Cassady & Ginsberg – those from the old Beat generation, moving into the new post-acid generation?

Verdict: A tragic ending to a chaotic journey of hedonistic euphoria. Brilliant.