The Hindu : International : The last word mystery

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Friday, Mar 04, 2005

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International

The last word mystery

Washington: It might not have the majesty of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, or the viciousness of his attacks on the American dream. But the last written word of Hunter S Thompson, who died last week, has left the literary world intrigued and enthralled. According to a sheriff's report, the author's body was found in a chair by his kitchen table, on which a typewriter had been placed and a page of writing paper had been lined up with the word ``counselor'' (sic) typed at its centre. A fierce social critic, satirist, and anti-war activist, Thompson (67) killed himself with a shot from a semi-automatic pistol at home in Aspen, Colorado, while his son's family was staying with him. The police report describes how his son, Juan Thompson, walked outside the house after discovering the body and fired three shotgun blasts into the air, later telling a deputy sheriff he had done it to ``mark the passing of his father.'' The significance of the writer's last word was unclear on Wednesday. It could have been the beginning of a letter addressed to a counsellor, he may have been describing himself, or he might simply have wished to confound those looking for neat explanations for his suicide — an echo of Rosebud, the central character's last word in the film Citizen Kane.

— © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004

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