The College Perspective by Lindsey

Hog Fever by Richard La Plante is a fun 269-page ride for motorcyclists and non-riders alike.

Published in 1995, this narrative nonfiction follows the life of a motorcycle obsessed writer in the late 1980s/early 1990s.

La Plante himself is a very relatable character and admits many times that he is not a macho man hardened by the road. He simply loves to ride. This shows in his open admittance to overdraft fees while in the clutches of hog fever, desperate to have that next new model of Harley or custom part. To add to this, his several run-ins with the law as a young adult and in his mid-life adventures give the reader nostalgia of their own childhood and adventures.

The author takes you through many of the challenges of riding in a personal way. He isn’t afraid to put his personal shortcomings in the bike world on the page for all to see. He even admits to being fully pantsed after a crash in England before he had his motorcycle license which left him more cautious for future rides. He hides riding magazines from his wife like most people hide porn.

Later on, he describes his long-distance trip to Spain in such vivid detail you can almost envisage La Plante wiping the rain off his goggles every two seconds during the rain storms, covered in water and mud from head to toe.

Admittedly there are some issues with the book for those of us who don’t yet possess hog fever. To accurately write about riding, La Plante obviously has to use the correct technical terms for bike parts, but at times it can feel a bit overloaded for the reader who has no idea what different models of bikes and their parts consist of. The pictures sprinkled throughout the book help a little with the look and feel of different bikes that La Plante describes, but I still have no idea what the different engines look like or how one Harley looks too different from another.

Before reading this book, I was only vaguely aware of two brands of motorcycles and motorcycle gangs, so coming into this world took a little bit of adjusting. In the end, I think La Plante’s charm and genuine openness about the struggles and joys of riding a motorcycle will encourage any reader to read the book if not also buy a hog for themselves.