The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test is a 1968 nonfiction book by Tom Wolfe. The book is a popular example of the New Journalism literary style. The book presents a firsthand account of the experiences of Ken Kesey and a group of psychedelic enthusiasts known as the Merry Pranksters, who traveled across the United States in a colorfully-painted school bus they called Furthur. Kesey and the Pranksters became famous for their use of psychedelic drugs (such as LSD) to achieve expansion of their consciousness. The book chronicles the Acid Tests (parties with LSD-laced Kool-Aid) and encounters with notable figures of the time (Hells Angels, Grateful Dead, Allen Ginsberg), and describes Kesey's exile to Mexico and his arrests.
Plot
Wolfe chronicles the adventures of Ken Kesey and his group of followers. Throughout the work, Kesey is portrayed as seeking to create a new religion. Kesey gathers a group of followers based on the allure of transcendence achievable through drugs as well as his ability to preach and captivate listeners. The group was labelled as the "Merry Pranksters" and participated in a drug-fueled lifestyle. The "Acid Tests" — parties centered around LSD-laced Kool-Aid and carried out with lights and noise intended to enhance the psychedelic experience — started at Kesey's house in the woods of La Honda, California.
The Pranksters eventually leave the confines of Kesey's estate and travel across the country in a bus called Furthur. The bus is driven by Neal Cassady, who was the inspiration for the character Dean Moriarty in Jack Kerouac's 1957 novel On the Road. Throughout the journey, the individuals on the bus take acid frequently. As the Merry Pranksters gain popularity, Kesey's reputation develops as well. Towards the middle of the book, Kesey is idolized as the hero of a growing counterculture. Alongside this, Kesey forms friendships with groups like the Hells Angels and crosses paths with icons of the Beat Generation. His growing popularity provides Kesey and the Pranksters opportunities to meet other significant members of the growing counterculture including the Grateful Dead, Allen Ginsberg and attempt to meet with Timothy Leary. The failed meeting with Leary marks a greater failure to unite the counterculture from East to West coasts. This becomes one of the turning points in the book, indicating that the new generation of “hippies” had officially outpaced the old Beat Generation in style and philosophy.
In an effort to broadcast their lifestyle, the Pranksters publicize their acid experiences giving rise to the term Acid Test. They describe the goal of these parties as the pursuit of "intersubjectivity," a state beyond an individual's ego. As the Acid Tests are catching on culturally, Kesey is arrested for possession of marijuana. In an effort to avoid jail, he flees to Mexico and is joined by the Pranksters. The Pranksters struggle in Mexico and are unable to obtain the same results from their acid trips.
Kesey and some of the Pranksters return to the United States. At this point, Kesey becomes a full-blown pop culture icon as he appears on TV and radio shows, despite being wanted by the FBI. Eventually, he is located and arrested. Kesey is conditionally released as he convinces the judge that the next step of his movement is an "Acid Test Graduation," an event in which the Pranksters and other followers will attempt to achieve intersubjectivity without the use of mind-altering drugs. The graduation is not effective enough to clear the charges from Kesey's name. He is given two sentences for two separate offenses. He is designated to a work camp to fulfill his sentence. He moves his wife and children to Oregon and begins serving his time in the forests of California.
Cultural significance and reception
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test has been described as faithful and "essential" in depicting the roots and growth of the hippie movement.
The New Journalism literary style is seen to have elicited either fascination or incredulity by its audience. While The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test was not the original standard for New Journalism, it is the most-often cited work of that genre. Wolfe's descriptions and accounts of the adventures of Kesey and his cohort were influential on the cultural perception of the figures and events in the book. Wolfe's style is particularly characteristic of New Journalism as he invites the reader to view the work as fiction rather than reportage.