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The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy #4
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
Now celebrating the 42nd anniversary of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, soon to be a Hulu original series!
"A madcap adventure . . . Adams's writing teeters on the fringe of inspired lunacy."--United Press International
Back on Earth with nothing more to show for his long, strange trip through time and space than a ratty towel and a plastic shopping bag, Arthur Dent is ready to believe that the past eight years were all just a figment of his stressed-out imagination. But a gift-wrapped fishbowl with a cryptic inscription, the mysterious disappearance of Earth's dolphins, and the discovery of his battered copy of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy all conspire to give Arthur the sneaking suspicion that something otherworldly is indeed going on.
God only knows what it all means. Fortunately, He left behind a Final Message of explanation. But since it's light-years away from Earth, on a star surrounded by souvenir booths, finding out what it is will mean hitching a ride to the far reaches of space aboard a UFO with a giant robot. What else is new?
"The most ridiculously exaggerated situation comedy known to created beings . . . Adams is irresistible."--The Boston Globe
214 pages, Paperback
First published October 12, 1984
1,796 people are currently reading
57.9k people want to read
About the author
Douglas Adams
102books23.1kfollowersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the ŷ database with this name.
Douglas Noel Adams was an English author, humourist, and screenwriter, best known for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (HHGTTG). Originally a 1978 BBC radio comedy, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy developed into a "trilogy" of five books that sold more than 15 million copies in his lifetime. It was further developed into a television series, several stage plays, comics, a video game, and a 2005 feature film. Adams's contribution to UK radio is commemorated in The Radio Academy's Hall of Fame.
Adams also wrote Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (1987) and The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul (1988), and co-wrote The Meaning of Liff (1983), The Deeper Meaning of Liff (1990) and Last Chance to See (1990). He wrote two stories for the television series Doctor Who, co-wrote City of Death (1979), and served as script editor for its seventeenth season. He co-wrote the sketch "Patient Abuse" for the final episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus. A posthumous collection of his selected works, including the first publication of his final (unfinished) novel, was published as The Salmon of Doubt in 2002.
Adams was a self-proclaimed "radical atheist", an advocate for environmentalism and conservation, and a lover of fast cars, technological innovation, and the Apple Macintosh.
Douglas Noel Adams was an English author, humourist, and screenwriter, best known for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (HHGTTG). Originally a 1978 BBC radio comedy, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy developed into a "trilogy" of five books that sold more than 15 million copies in his lifetime. It was further developed into a television series, several stage plays, comics, a video game, and a 2005 feature film. Adams's contribution to UK radio is commemorated in The Radio Academy's Hall of Fame.
Adams also wrote Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (1987) and The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul (1988), and co-wrote The Meaning of Liff (1983), The Deeper Meaning of Liff (1990) and Last Chance to See (1990). He wrote two stories for the television series Doctor Who, co-wrote City of Death (1979), and served as script editor for its seventeenth season. He co-wrote the sketch "Patient Abuse" for the final episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus. A posthumous collection of his selected works, including the first publication of his final (unfinished) novel, was published as The Salmon of Doubt in 2002.
Adams was a self-proclaimed "radical atheist", an advocate for environmentalism and conservation, and a lover of fast cars, technological innovation, and the Apple Macintosh.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 4,419 reviews
February 15, 2024
Yo Fenchurch!
After so many crazy adventures through the galaxy, Arthur Dent is back on a reconstructed Earth. Life, for once, seems happily uneventful, until the arrival of a mysterious character, and the appearance of a fishbowl with a cryptic message; not to mention, the disappearance of every single dolphin in the world.
This was the second best installment in the series. I absolutely LOVED the introduction of Fenchurch. Learned to understand and care about her so much more in just one book, than with Trillian in three. Just loved her character development . The biscuits story is one of the most hilarious things I’ve ever read in my entire life, and my most precious memory of all the books in the series. Cracks me up to tears every time I read it. This was mostly a solid 3 star read, but Fenchurch and the biscuits scene deserving an extra star.
For me this is the end of the series. #5 is something I like to pretend never happened. To anyone reading this, I'm going to tell you something I wish someone had told me before going forward. STOP HERE, don't read #5, you'll regret it for the rest of your life. #4 is a nice HEA ending for the series, #5 REALLY is not. Trust me, don't do that to yourself.
-----------------------------------------------
PERSONAL NOTE :
[1984] [225p] [Humor] [Recommendable] [The biscuits scene <3<3<3] [The flying scene <3]
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★★☆☆� 0.5. Young Zaphod Plays It Safe [1.5]
★★★★� 1. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
★★☆☆� 2. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe [2.5]
★★★☆� 3. Life, the Universe and Everything
★★★★� 4. So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
★☆☆☆� 5. Mostly Harmless
★★★☆� 1-5. The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
★★★☆� 6. And Another Thing... [2.5]
-----------------------------------------------
¡Hey Fenchurch!
Después de tantas alocadas aventuras a través de la galaxia, Arthur Dent está de vuelta en una Tierra reconstruida. La vida, por primera vez, parece transcurrir felizmente sin sobresaltos, hasta la llegada de una misteriosa figura, y la aparición de una pecera con un críptico mensaje; sin mencionar, la desaparición de todos y cada uno de los delfines del mundo.
Esta fue la segunda mejor entrega de la serie. Absolutamente AME la introducción de Fenchurch. Aprendí a entender y quererla mucho más en un sólo libro, que con Trillian en tres. Amé su desarrollo de personaje . La historia de las galletas es una de las cosas más hilarantes que leí jamás en toda mi vida, y mi más preciado recuerdo de todos los libros de la serie. Me parte de risa hasta las lágrimas cada vez que la leo. Esto fue un sólido 3 estrellas, pero Fenchurch y la escena de las galletas mereciendo una estrella extra.
Para mí este es el final de la serie. #5 es algo que me gusta imaginar que nunca sucedió. Para cualquiera leyendo esto, te voy a decir algo que desearía alguien me hubiera dicho a mí antes de seguir adelante. PARA ACA, no leas #5, es algo que vas a lamentar por el resto de tu vida. #4 es un lindo Feliz Para Siempre final para la serie, #5 REALMENTE no lo es. Confía en mí, no queres hacerte eso.
-----------------------------------------------
NOTA PERSONAL :
[1984] [225p] [Humor] [Recomendable] [La escena de las galletas <3<3<3] [La escena del vuelo <3]
-----------------------------------------------
After so many crazy adventures through the galaxy, Arthur Dent is back on a reconstructed Earth. Life, for once, seems happily uneventful, until the arrival of a mysterious character, and the appearance of a fishbowl with a cryptic message; not to mention, the disappearance of every single dolphin in the world.
This was the second best installment in the series. I absolutely LOVED the introduction of Fenchurch. Learned to understand and care about her so much more in just one book, than with Trillian in three. Just loved her character development . The biscuits story is one of the most hilarious things I’ve ever read in my entire life, and my most precious memory of all the books in the series. Cracks me up to tears every time I read it. This was mostly a solid 3 star read, but Fenchurch and the biscuits scene deserving an extra star.
For me this is the end of the series. #5 is something I like to pretend never happened. To anyone reading this, I'm going to tell you something I wish someone had told me before going forward. STOP HERE, don't read #5, you'll regret it for the rest of your life. #4 is a nice HEA ending for the series, #5 REALLY is not. Trust me, don't do that to yourself.
-----------------------------------------------
PERSONAL NOTE :
[1984] [225p] [Humor] [Recommendable] [The biscuits scene <3<3<3] [The flying scene <3]
-----------------------------------------------
★★☆☆� 0.5. Young Zaphod Plays It Safe [1.5]
★★★★� 1. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
★★☆☆� 2. The Restaurant at the End of the Universe [2.5]
★★★☆� 3. Life, the Universe and Everything
★★★★� 4. So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
★☆☆☆� 5. Mostly Harmless
★★★☆� 1-5. The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
★★★☆� 6. And Another Thing... [2.5]
-----------------------------------------------
¡Hey Fenchurch!
Después de tantas alocadas aventuras a través de la galaxia, Arthur Dent está de vuelta en una Tierra reconstruida. La vida, por primera vez, parece transcurrir felizmente sin sobresaltos, hasta la llegada de una misteriosa figura, y la aparición de una pecera con un críptico mensaje; sin mencionar, la desaparición de todos y cada uno de los delfines del mundo.
Esta fue la segunda mejor entrega de la serie. Absolutamente AME la introducción de Fenchurch. Aprendí a entender y quererla mucho más en un sólo libro, que con Trillian en tres. Amé su desarrollo de personaje . La historia de las galletas es una de las cosas más hilarantes que leí jamás en toda mi vida, y mi más preciado recuerdo de todos los libros de la serie. Me parte de risa hasta las lágrimas cada vez que la leo. Esto fue un sólido 3 estrellas, pero Fenchurch y la escena de las galletas mereciendo una estrella extra.
Para mí este es el final de la serie. #5 es algo que me gusta imaginar que nunca sucedió. Para cualquiera leyendo esto, te voy a decir algo que desearía alguien me hubiera dicho a mí antes de seguir adelante. PARA ACA, no leas #5, es algo que vas a lamentar por el resto de tu vida. #4 es un lindo Feliz Para Siempre final para la serie, #5 REALMENTE no lo es. Confía en mí, no queres hacerte eso.
-----------------------------------------------
NOTA PERSONAL :
[1984] [225p] [Humor] [Recomendable] [La escena de las galletas <3<3<3] [La escena del vuelo <3]
-----------------------------------------------
March 5, 2023
It might be speciesism, but I thought that dolphins would be funnier
Never change a running system
Adams had to write this one because he needed another part of the series, but instead of integrating it in the metaplot like the second and third part, he made a whole new, but sadly not better,
reading experience out of it.
This can be good for friends of less interwoven stories that focus on one main topic, but strangely that´s the opposite of what the other parts of the series have been. It´s less funny, not so complex, not so intensively dealing with the events of the other parts and how they influence the present, and just not feeling as what the reader expects.
The other parts finished by combining integrated elements into a real aha-wow-moment, but this time the end felt bleak. This critique would be inappropriate because, for an average joe author, it would still be very good quality, but the problem for ingenious people is that it can get very tricky to come up to the expectations. Personally, I would have wished for more of the elements that made the series great instead of this wishy-washy whatever thing and it should have stopped me from reading the fifth part which is even worse, according to what people say. And that´s true.
A final roast: The humor seems to have gone from ironic and deep to more trivial and situational slapstick and why there is so much space for useless character description is a mystery to me too.
Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
Never change a running system
Adams had to write this one because he needed another part of the series, but instead of integrating it in the metaplot like the second and third part, he made a whole new, but sadly not better,
reading experience out of it.
This can be good for friends of less interwoven stories that focus on one main topic, but strangely that´s the opposite of what the other parts of the series have been. It´s less funny, not so complex, not so intensively dealing with the events of the other parts and how they influence the present, and just not feeling as what the reader expects.
The other parts finished by combining integrated elements into a real aha-wow-moment, but this time the end felt bleak. This critique would be inappropriate because, for an average joe author, it would still be very good quality, but the problem for ingenious people is that it can get very tricky to come up to the expectations. Personally, I would have wished for more of the elements that made the series great instead of this wishy-washy whatever thing and it should have stopped me from reading the fifth part which is even worse, according to what people say. And that´s true.
A final roast: The humor seems to have gone from ironic and deep to more trivial and situational slapstick and why there is so much space for useless character description is a mystery to me too.
Tropes show how literature is conceptualized and created and which mixture of elements makes works and genres unique:
July 29, 2016
1. You will never read anything so British again in your lifespan.
2. If you're a writer, try underlining every adverb in this book. Then, read a book on fiction writing that advises you to avoid using adverbs. (Any ironic chuckling afterwards is optional.)
3. This book should be rated "Mostly Harmless."
4. Thanks, Mr. Adams. So long, and thanks for all the fun.
2. If you're a writer, try underlining every adverb in this book. Then, read a book on fiction writing that advises you to avoid using adverbs. (Any ironic chuckling afterwards is optional.)
3. This book should be rated "Mostly Harmless."
4. Thanks, Mr. Adams. So long, and thanks for all the fun.
September 18, 2024
An unseen spaceship lands on Earth (England) in the rain, never knew about all the precipitation there , a "man " leaves the craft and waves , thanking the crew for the ride, but first going back he forgot his bag, essential towels inside ... Slogs through the mud and muck, in the cold windy darkness slipping and sliding going up a hill, climbs over a fence and is almost killed, when a speeding automobile (a Porsche), nearly crushes the stranger on the road. The heavy rain pours down, lightning flashes in the nearby gloomy hills, illuminating for a brief moment the cheerless surroundings, the miserable, soaked man, tries to hitchhike but nobody will stop in this weather. This is no alien but a nostalgic Mr. Arthur Dent, coming back home after eight lengthy years, crossing the galaxy. Only five months have passed here, his planet has not vanished, the mystery goes unexplained, this is a science- fiction book after all . At last the shivering Dent, gets into a car, with an unconscious woman in the back seat and her brother driving. She falls on the professional hitchhiker, who can't see her face and immediately becomes infatuated. The lady is named Fenny ( Fenchurch, don't ask), so says her rather unsympathetic brother Russell, with mental problems, too many hospital visits... hallucinations, she also saw the world destroyed, silly idea, however will become the expatriate's great love. Meanwhile back on a real alien world, Mr.Ford Prefect is in deep, deep, trouble, the kind that can get you dead permanently. Having spent not wisely, in the unsavory " Old Pink Dog Bar", and no money, except an American Express Card, and they don't accept plastic from a nonexistent planet, that no one has ever heard of . The murderous bartender, is impatient, lucky The Hitchhiker's Guide is very prestigious and Ford does write for them, publicity can do wonders ... Returning to the third planet from the Sun (Sol) Mr.Prefect finally reunites with Arthur, after an extended search, Dent, doesn't answer his home phone, yes he got back , because his friend was too busy teaching Fenny, how to fly ... In an unlighted alley, floating above the ground, the pair grab each other, acrobatic looping, twisting and turning, doing things which are not well described here, she almost hits the pavement, too fast for a long life, Arthur saves the day. Later, scaring passengers in a plane, high over an English town, its people see a real UFO indeed. Visiting, the couple meet a rather weird , make that eccentric man, who knows a very important secret so he claims, something about dolphins. On a beach in California, Mr. John Watson, has a genuine strange house, he gives him a fish bowl, Arthur already has one so does Fenny. In the sunshine, casting a beautiful rainbow on the sand , writing appears on the surface of the dish, they read . Another very entertaining novel, in the funny series. It amused me...
September 19, 2020
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #4), Douglas Adams
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy radio series, written by Douglas Adams (with some material in the first series provided by John Lloyd).
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish is the fourth book of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy "trilogy" written by Douglas Adams.
Its title is the message left by the dolphins when they departed Planet Earth just before it was demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass, as described in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
The phrase has since been adopted by some science fiction fans as a humorous way to say "goodbye" and a song of the same name was featured in the 2005 film adaptation of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز بیست و یکم ماه سپتامبر سال 2018 میلادی
عنوان: خداحافظ برای همیشه و ممنون بابت اون� همه ماهی جلد چهارم؛ نویسنده: داگلاس آدامز؛ مترجم: آرش سرکوهی؛ تهران نشر چشمه� 1397؛ در 203ص؛ شابک 9786220100287؛ چاپ دوم 1398؛ موضوع: داستانهای نویسندگان بریتانیایی - سده 20م
در جلد چهارم از این سری: «راهنمای کهکشان برای اتواستاپزنها»� با عنوان: «خداحافظ برای همیشه و ممنون بابت اون همه ماهی»، «آرتور» پس از سفرهای فراوانِ زمانی و مکانی، پس از نزدیکشد� به درک معنای زندگی، و نقش کره زمین در آن (در جلد نخست سری: راهنمای کهکشان برای اتواستاپزنه�)، پس از دیدار با مردی که جهان را اداره میکن� (جلد دوم سری: رستوران آخر جهان)، پس از غذا خوردن در رستوران آخر جهان (جلد دوم سری) و پس از نجات جهان از حمله رباتها� مرگآو� کریکیتی (جلد سوم سری: زندگی، جهان و همه چیز)، به کره ی زمین بازمیگردد� به زمینی که «آرتور»، نابودی آن را به چشم خود دیده، اما زمین همچنان وجود دارد؛ «خداحافظ برای همیشه و ممنون بابت اون همه ماهی» از یکسو روایت تلاشها� «آرتور» است، برای کنار آمدن با این پارادوکس، و یافتن توضیحی منطقی برای این تناقض، و از سوی دیگر داستان آشنا شدن «آرتور» با دختری زمینی است، که شاید بتواند «آرتور» را، در حل این معما یاری کند، و البته ماجرای ناپدیدشدن ناگهانی «دلفین»ه� از کره ی زمین، و آخرین پیام آنه� برای بشریت: «خداحافظ برای همیشه و ممنون بابت اون همه ماهی!» نیز هست؛ جناب «آرش سرکوهی» در پیشگفتار این کتاب مینویسن� «زبان آدامز در این رمان زبانی روایی و گفتاری است، که زیباییها� زبان ادبی را نیز حفظ کرده است؛ کوشیده� ام تا، علاوه بر انتقالِ طنزِ رمان، شیوه، سبک، روال و لحن و شگردهای نویسنده را نیز به فارسی منتقل کنم؛ زبان «آدامز» در این رمان، که برای خواندن از رادیو تنظیم شده است،� زبانی گفتاری است؛ زبان محاوره� ای یا شکسته فارسی معادلی است مناسب برای این زبان،. به همین دلیل تصمیم گرفتم تا در مجموعه راهنمای کهکشان��� برای اتواستاپزنها� هم در متن روایی و هم در گفتگوها، از زبان محاوره� ای بهره گیرم، و متن روایی و گفتگوها را دو با رسم� الخط متفاوت، متمایز کنم؛ شاید این روال یا قراری که من با خود نهاده� ام، به چشم برخی خوانشگران عجیب بنماید؛ اما نوشتن زبان شکسته یا محاوره� ای فارسی، هموازه با دشواریها� بسیاری همراه است، از جمله به این دلیل که رسم� الخط، یا آیین نگارش فارسی، درباره ی شیوه نوشتن ضمیرها، و فعلها� شکسته، قواعد پذیرفته شده� ای وجود ندارد؛ هدف اصلی من این بوده است که تمامی متن کتاب با رسم� الخطی یکسان نوشته شود.»؛ پایان نقل از مترجم
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 28/06/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a science fiction comedy radio series, written by Douglas Adams (with some material in the first series provided by John Lloyd).
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish is the fourth book of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy "trilogy" written by Douglas Adams.
Its title is the message left by the dolphins when they departed Planet Earth just before it was demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass, as described in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
The phrase has since been adopted by some science fiction fans as a humorous way to say "goodbye" and a song of the same name was featured in the 2005 film adaptation of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز بیست و یکم ماه سپتامبر سال 2018 میلادی
عنوان: خداحافظ برای همیشه و ممنون بابت اون� همه ماهی جلد چهارم؛ نویسنده: داگلاس آدامز؛ مترجم: آرش سرکوهی؛ تهران نشر چشمه� 1397؛ در 203ص؛ شابک 9786220100287؛ چاپ دوم 1398؛ موضوع: داستانهای نویسندگان بریتانیایی - سده 20م
در جلد چهارم از این سری: «راهنمای کهکشان برای اتواستاپزنها»� با عنوان: «خداحافظ برای همیشه و ممنون بابت اون همه ماهی»، «آرتور» پس از سفرهای فراوانِ زمانی و مکانی، پس از نزدیکشد� به درک معنای زندگی، و نقش کره زمین در آن (در جلد نخست سری: راهنمای کهکشان برای اتواستاپزنه�)، پس از دیدار با مردی که جهان را اداره میکن� (جلد دوم سری: رستوران آخر جهان)، پس از غذا خوردن در رستوران آخر جهان (جلد دوم سری) و پس از نجات جهان از حمله رباتها� مرگآو� کریکیتی (جلد سوم سری: زندگی، جهان و همه چیز)، به کره ی زمین بازمیگردد� به زمینی که «آرتور»، نابودی آن را به چشم خود دیده، اما زمین همچنان وجود دارد؛ «خداحافظ برای همیشه و ممنون بابت اون همه ماهی» از یکسو روایت تلاشها� «آرتور» است، برای کنار آمدن با این پارادوکس، و یافتن توضیحی منطقی برای این تناقض، و از سوی دیگر داستان آشنا شدن «آرتور» با دختری زمینی است، که شاید بتواند «آرتور» را، در حل این معما یاری کند، و البته ماجرای ناپدیدشدن ناگهانی «دلفین»ه� از کره ی زمین، و آخرین پیام آنه� برای بشریت: «خداحافظ برای همیشه و ممنون بابت اون همه ماهی!» نیز هست؛ جناب «آرش سرکوهی» در پیشگفتار این کتاب مینویسن� «زبان آدامز در این رمان زبانی روایی و گفتاری است، که زیباییها� زبان ادبی را نیز حفظ کرده است؛ کوشیده� ام تا، علاوه بر انتقالِ طنزِ رمان، شیوه، سبک، روال و لحن و شگردهای نویسنده را نیز به فارسی منتقل کنم؛ زبان «آدامز» در این رمان، که برای خواندن از رادیو تنظیم شده است،� زبانی گفتاری است؛ زبان محاوره� ای یا شکسته فارسی معادلی است مناسب برای این زبان،. به همین دلیل تصمیم گرفتم تا در مجموعه راهنمای کهکشان��� برای اتواستاپزنها� هم در متن روایی و هم در گفتگوها، از زبان محاوره� ای بهره گیرم، و متن روایی و گفتگوها را دو با رسم� الخط متفاوت، متمایز کنم؛ شاید این روال یا قراری که من با خود نهاده� ام، به چشم برخی خوانشگران عجیب بنماید؛ اما نوشتن زبان شکسته یا محاوره� ای فارسی، هموازه با دشواریها� بسیاری همراه است، از جمله به این دلیل که رسم� الخط، یا آیین نگارش فارسی، درباره ی شیوه نوشتن ضمیرها، و فعلها� شکسته، قواعد پذیرفته شده� ای وجود ندارد؛ هدف اصلی من این بوده است که تمامی متن کتاب با رسم� الخطی یکسان نوشته شود.»؛ پایان نقل از مترجم
تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 28/06/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی
February 19, 2021
راهنمایی برای خوانندگان مجموعه� راهنمای کهکشان برای اتواستاپزنه�
سعی نکنید قضیه رو منطقی کنید و یه چیز بامعنی ازش دربیارید و بفهمیدش، اگه دنبال یه همچین چیزایی هستید خدا روزیتونو تو کتابای دیگه حواله کنه
همش چرند، مزخرف، شِر، مهمل، نامعقول، بیمعنی� بیهوده، پوچ، یاوه، ابزورد، مضحک و چرت و پرتــ (دیگه فرهنگ لغت چیزی ننوشته) ـه
ولی بهترین چرند، مزخرف، شِر، مهمل، نامعقول، بیمعنی� بیهوده، پوچ، یاوه، ابزورد، مضحک و چرت و پرتــیـه که نوشته شده
سعی نکنید قضیه رو منطقی کنید و یه چیز بامعنی ازش دربیارید و بفهمیدش، اگه دنبال یه همچین چیزایی هستید خدا روزیتونو تو کتابای دیگه حواله کنه
همش چرند، مزخرف، شِر، مهمل، نامعقول، بیمعنی� بیهوده، پوچ، یاوه، ابزورد، مضحک و چرت و پرتــ (دیگه فرهنگ لغت چیزی ننوشته) ـه
ولی بهترین چرند، مزخرف، شِر، مهمل، نامعقول، بیمعنی� بیهوده، پوچ، یاوه، ابزورد، مضحک و چرت و پرتــیـه که نوشته شده
May 21, 2020
Compared to any other book in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series, I may say something rather controversial:
I think it is the best book.
Mind you, it's a close tie with the first book, but when we add an actual satisfying end to a rather delightful little adventure that has relatively little torture and a great deal more of truly romantic romance, I feel it deserves a boatload of respect.
It's full of all the little zingers we've grown to love, it has enormous amounts of satire... and it's simply beautiful. Do I love Fenchurch? I do. Do I think she's fantastic for finally giving that poor old sod, Arthur, a chance? Nay, even PITY? Ah, that's the interesting bit. It feels genuine. And delightful. And they're SOOO cute. I'll even say right here and now that if every romance on the planet panned out exactly the way this one did, I would die a very happy man.
Did I mention that they're CUTE??? And the flying is MUCH better than that scene in Christopher Reeve's Superman. Word.
And, I should mention here... even though the official fifth book in the series, Mostly Harmless, was written a full 8 years after So Long and Thanks for All the Fish, I'm just going to say that the reading order MUST be adjusted for taste.
Keep So Long as the last book you read. It makes the whole thing CHARMING and BEAUTIFUL. If you read Mostly Harmless, then read it right before So Long. That way, when you have that bitter taste in your mouth, you can wash it down with the pure charm of So Long. :)
I think it is the best book.
Mind you, it's a close tie with the first book, but when we add an actual satisfying end to a rather delightful little adventure that has relatively little torture and a great deal more of truly romantic romance, I feel it deserves a boatload of respect.
It's full of all the little zingers we've grown to love, it has enormous amounts of satire... and it's simply beautiful. Do I love Fenchurch? I do. Do I think she's fantastic for finally giving that poor old sod, Arthur, a chance? Nay, even PITY? Ah, that's the interesting bit. It feels genuine. And delightful. And they're SOOO cute. I'll even say right here and now that if every romance on the planet panned out exactly the way this one did, I would die a very happy man.
Did I mention that they're CUTE??? And the flying is MUCH better than that scene in Christopher Reeve's Superman. Word.
And, I should mention here... even though the official fifth book in the series, Mostly Harmless, was written a full 8 years after So Long and Thanks for All the Fish, I'm just going to say that the reading order MUST be adjusted for taste.
Keep So Long as the last book you read. It makes the whole thing CHARMING and BEAUTIFUL. If you read Mostly Harmless, then read it right before So Long. That way, when you have that bitter taste in your mouth, you can wash it down with the pure charm of So Long. :)
April 3, 2012
This book seems to be different from the earlier books in the series. It is no longer sci-fi since Arthur Dent has come back from space travel to Earth and a good part of the story is his love story. Had I not read the first books, I would have liked this as a romantic comedy story. So, I guess I was affected by my wrong expectation.
The plot is tighter than the earlier books. There are still those funny moments and my favorite is the biscuit eating scene. I had a bittersweet feeling about the disappearance of the dolphin. However, my favorite is that part with the sign "Sorry for the Inconvenience." Of course, the title of this book is so catchy and smart-sounding. I even had a first-hand experience of a British office mate who used this sentence in his adieu to us when he was promoted to a new position several years back.
The plot was tight but the telling is not as engaging as the earlier books particularly the second one. Or maybe I just had enough of Adams humor as I should not have read these in close succession. I mean if you are reading, alongside with this book, the wonderful prose of Alan Hollinghurst or the funny yet strange characters of Anne Tyler, then you'll know what I mean. It's like reading Shakespeare and upon getting tired, you close it and try Nicholas Sparks.
However, overall, this is still an okay book. Nicholas Sparks (he knows how to write and his books sell well!) and all. I still in awe how Adams was able to extend his trilogy to this fourth book without showing that he was tired. Not corny at all. From Earth (Book 1), to Space (Book 2) to Prehistoric Earth (Book 3) then back to our Earth (Book 4). I was like cheering Arthur Dent and Fernchurch, welcome back to earth! It just broke my heart that she was not Trillian. Oh.
I have to hunt for the other books in this trilogy.
The plot is tighter than the earlier books. There are still those funny moments and my favorite is the biscuit eating scene. I had a bittersweet feeling about the disappearance of the dolphin. However, my favorite is that part with the sign "Sorry for the Inconvenience." Of course, the title of this book is so catchy and smart-sounding. I even had a first-hand experience of a British office mate who used this sentence in his adieu to us when he was promoted to a new position several years back.
The plot was tight but the telling is not as engaging as the earlier books particularly the second one. Or maybe I just had enough of Adams humor as I should not have read these in close succession. I mean if you are reading, alongside with this book, the wonderful prose of Alan Hollinghurst or the funny yet strange characters of Anne Tyler, then you'll know what I mean. It's like reading Shakespeare and upon getting tired, you close it and try Nicholas Sparks.
However, overall, this is still an okay book. Nicholas Sparks (he knows how to write and his books sell well!) and all. I still in awe how Adams was able to extend his trilogy to this fourth book without showing that he was tired. Not corny at all. From Earth (Book 1), to Space (Book 2) to Prehistoric Earth (Book 3) then back to our Earth (Book 4). I was like cheering Arthur Dent and Fernchurch, welcome back to earth! It just broke my heart that she was not Trillian. Oh.
I have to hunt for the other books in this trilogy.
August 18, 2020
خب خب خب!
درباره معنای زندگی که هیچ ابهامی وجود نداره. از همون جلد اول جوابو داریم، "۴۲" عه مقدس! ( لطفا تفسیر شخصی نکنید، فلسفه زندگی که مسخره بازیه یه مشت تفسیر کننده نیست ) این از این.
بعد ممکنه سوال پیش بیاد: رویا جون! چرا اصلا باید این جلد رو هم بخونیم؟
جوابش اینه که: چون این جلد چهارمه و برای خوندن جلد پنج، لازمه اول این جلد خونده بشه.( این اواخر خیلی منطقی شدم و دارم به مشکل برمیخورم.)
حالا که تا اینجا رو خوندید احتمالآ بدجور مشتاقید بدونید ماجرای این جلد چجوریه. ( خواهش میکنم حتی اگر شده تظاهر کنید مشتاقید چون خیلی برام مهمه تحت تاثیر قرارتون بدم)
باید عرض کنم که این جلد در دستهبند� علمی_تخیلی_کمدی_رمانتیک قرار میگیره. چون همه چیزایی که توی اون دسته بندی وجود داره رو توی خودش جا داده ،اونم به شکل خیلی خیلی جذاب که بنظرم فقط از عهده داگلاس آدامز بر میاد و لاغیر.
تفاوت این جلد با سه تای قبلی اینه که رمنسش بیشتر و طنزش کمتره.
می پرسید از کدوم قسمت داستان بیشتر خوشم اومد؟ ( ناامیدم نکنید لطفا)
خب اون قسمتی که " مرشد و مارگاریتا" رو ریخته بود توی کتابش واقعا واقعا برام الهام بخش بود. ببینید واقعا صحنه سورئال و بی نهایت احساسی بود ، پرواز آرتور و فنی توی آسمون شب( این دوتا قهرمان های خل و چل این جلدن)، هم آغوشی و معاشقه بین ابرها و بعد هم روی بال هواپیما... خیلی دوستش داشتم، تا اونجا که چشمام اشکی هم شد حتی!
و جمله� طلایی کتاب، آخرین پیام ایزد به مخلوقاتش:
((بابت مزاحمتها� ایجاد شده پوزش میطلبی�))
قلب منکه با خوندنش آروم شد، شما رو نمیدونم.
...........
ببینید، همه این مزخرفات رو بریزید توی توالت. فقط اگر می خوایید یکم طنز درست و حسابی بخونید که ارزش وقت گذاشتن داشته باشه، بنظرم این مجموعه انتخاب خوبیه. البته زیادم وقت نمیگیره خوندن هر جلدش.
طاقچه داره توی کافه بینهایت
درباره معنای زندگی که هیچ ابهامی وجود نداره. از همون جلد اول جوابو داریم، "۴۲" عه مقدس! ( لطفا تفسیر شخصی نکنید، فلسفه زندگی که مسخره بازیه یه مشت تفسیر کننده نیست ) این از این.
بعد ممکنه سوال پیش بیاد: رویا جون! چرا اصلا باید این جلد رو هم بخونیم؟
جوابش اینه که: چون این جلد چهارمه و برای خوندن جلد پنج، لازمه اول این جلد خونده بشه.( این اواخر خیلی منطقی شدم و دارم به مشکل برمیخورم.)
حالا که تا اینجا رو خوندید احتمالآ بدجور مشتاقید بدونید ماجرای این جلد چجوریه. ( خواهش میکنم حتی اگر شده تظاهر کنید مشتاقید چون خیلی برام مهمه تحت تاثیر قرارتون بدم)
باید عرض کنم که این جلد در دستهبند� علمی_تخیلی_کمدی_رمانتیک قرار میگیره. چون همه چیزایی که توی اون دسته بندی وجود داره رو توی خودش جا داده ،اونم به شکل خیلی خیلی جذاب که بنظرم فقط از عهده داگلاس آدامز بر میاد و لاغیر.
تفاوت این جلد با سه تای قبلی اینه که رمنسش بیشتر و طنزش کمتره.
می پرسید از کدوم قسمت داستان بیشتر خوشم اومد؟ ( ناامیدم نکنید لطفا)
خب اون قسمتی که " مرشد و مارگاریتا" رو ریخته بود توی کتابش واقعا واقعا برام الهام بخش بود. ببینید واقعا صحنه سورئال و بی نهایت احساسی بود ، پرواز آرتور و فنی توی آسمون شب( این دوتا قهرمان های خل و چل این جلدن)، هم آغوشی و معاشقه بین ابرها و بعد هم روی بال هواپیما... خیلی دوستش داشتم، تا اونجا که چشمام اشکی هم شد حتی!
و جمله� طلایی کتاب، آخرین پیام ایزد به مخلوقاتش:
((بابت مزاحمتها� ایجاد شده پوزش میطلبی�))
قلب منکه با خوندنش آروم شد، شما رو نمیدونم.
...........
ببینید، همه این مزخرفات رو بریزید توی توالت. فقط اگر می خوایید یکم طنز درست و حسابی بخونید که ارزش وقت گذاشتن داشته باشه، بنظرم این مجموعه انتخاب خوبیه. البته زیادم وقت نمیگیره خوندن هر جلدش.
طاقچه داره توی کافه بینهایت
December 5, 2013
This is the fourth book in Douglas Adams� Hitchhiker Trilogy (no, that’s not a typo) starting with The Hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy. Douglas Adams originally only meant to write two sequels to his original classic, and I’m sorry to say, this book shows it. In all of Douglas’s books, the plot is convoluted at best, with frequent asides and authorial interpretations (which works perfectly in the context of sci-fi comedy) but the plot in this story was so ambiguous, it just didn’t have the same effect as the others. Ford has gone back to doing research for the guide, as he was doing before. Arthur is back on earth, courting a new young woman he met recently (who’s got a long list of psychological problems) and through a couple of random events, the two meet up again. Along with Arthur’s new love interest, they travel to the edge of the universe (for a reason not explained), in order to find the last message God left to his people before he disappeared from existence (I shall save you the trouble now, and just tell you that the message is “sorry for the inconvenience�). It’s clear that this is a book Adams never meant to publish, and it just seems like a random smattering of ideas and anecdotes he wanted to use in his other books, but never got the chance to. You’re really better off just sticking with the original three, or just the first book, which is a good stand-alone story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 28, 2009
The universe is a joke.
Even before I was shown the meaning of life in a dream at 17 (then promptly forgot it because I thought I smelled pancakes), I knew this to be true--and yet, I have always felt a need to search for the truth, that nebulous, ill-treated creature. Adams has always been, to me, to be a welcome companion in that journey.
Between the search for meaning and the recognition that it's all a joke in poor taste lies Douglas Adams, and, luckily for us, he doesn't seem to mind if you lie there with him. He's a tall guy, but he'll make room.
For all his crazed unpredictability, Adams is a powerful rationalist. His humor comes from his attempts to really think through all the things we take for granted. It turns out it takes little more than a moment's questioning to burst our preconceptions at the seams, yet rarely does this stop us from treating the most ludicrous things as if they were perfectly reasonable.
It is no surprise that famed atheist Richard Dawkins found a friend and ally in Adams. What is surprising is that people often fail to see the rather consistent and reasonable philosophy laid out by Adams' quips and absurdities. His approach is much more personable (and less embittered) than Dawkins', which is why I think of Adams as a better face for rational materialism (which is a polite was of saying 'atheism').
Reading his books, it's not hard to see that Dawkins is tired of arguing with uninformed idiots who can't even recognize when a point has actually been made. Adams' humanism, however, stretched much further than the contention between those who believe, and those who don't.
We see it from his protagonists, who are not elitist intellectuals--they're not even especially bright--but damn it, they're trying. By showing a universe that makes no sense and having his characters constantly question it, Adams is subtly hinting that this is the natural human state, and the fact that we laugh and sympathize shows that it must be true.
It's all a joke, it's all ridiculous. The absurdists might find this depressing, but they're just a bunch of narcissists, anyhow. Demnading the world make sense and give you purpose is rather self centered when it already contains toasted paninis, attractive people in bathing suits, and Euler's Identity. I say let's sit down at the bar with the rabbi, the priest, and the frog and try to get a song going. Or at least recognize that it's okay to laugh at ourselves now and again. It's not the end of the world.
It's just is a joke, but some of us are in on it.
Even before I was shown the meaning of life in a dream at 17 (then promptly forgot it because I thought I smelled pancakes), I knew this to be true--and yet, I have always felt a need to search for the truth, that nebulous, ill-treated creature. Adams has always been, to me, to be a welcome companion in that journey.
Between the search for meaning and the recognition that it's all a joke in poor taste lies Douglas Adams, and, luckily for us, he doesn't seem to mind if you lie there with him. He's a tall guy, but he'll make room.
For all his crazed unpredictability, Adams is a powerful rationalist. His humor comes from his attempts to really think through all the things we take for granted. It turns out it takes little more than a moment's questioning to burst our preconceptions at the seams, yet rarely does this stop us from treating the most ludicrous things as if they were perfectly reasonable.
It is no surprise that famed atheist Richard Dawkins found a friend and ally in Adams. What is surprising is that people often fail to see the rather consistent and reasonable philosophy laid out by Adams' quips and absurdities. His approach is much more personable (and less embittered) than Dawkins', which is why I think of Adams as a better face for rational materialism (which is a polite was of saying 'atheism').
Reading his books, it's not hard to see that Dawkins is tired of arguing with uninformed idiots who can't even recognize when a point has actually been made. Adams' humanism, however, stretched much further than the contention between those who believe, and those who don't.
We see it from his protagonists, who are not elitist intellectuals--they're not even especially bright--but damn it, they're trying. By showing a universe that makes no sense and having his characters constantly question it, Adams is subtly hinting that this is the natural human state, and the fact that we laugh and sympathize shows that it must be true.
It's all a joke, it's all ridiculous. The absurdists might find this depressing, but they're just a bunch of narcissists, anyhow. Demnading the world make sense and give you purpose is rather self centered when it already contains toasted paninis, attractive people in bathing suits, and Euler's Identity. I say let's sit down at the bar with the rabbi, the priest, and the frog and try to get a song going. Or at least recognize that it's okay to laugh at ourselves now and again. It's not the end of the world.
It's just is a joke, but some of us are in on it.
December 28, 2020
گفت:«...در سیارهٔ این روبات انسانه� شهروندن و مارمولکه� حاکم. انسانه� از مارمولکه� متنفرن و مارمولکه� بر اونه� حکومت میکن�.»
آرتور گفت «عجیبه. مگه نگفتی که سیارهشو� دموکراسیه؟»
فورد گفت «چرا. گفتم. دموکراسیه. چهطو� مگه؟»
آرتور امیدوار بود که سوالش خیلی احمقانه به نظر نرسه. «خب پس چرا انسانه� خودشون رو از شر مارمولکه� خلاص نمیکنن؟�
فورد گفت «به ذهنشو� نمیرس�. به همین سادگی. همهشو� حق رای دارن و فکر میکن� که دولتی که به� رای دادن کموبی� همونیه که میخوا�.»
«یعنی میخوا� بگی مردم داوطلبانه به مارمولکه� رای میدن؟�
فورد شونهها� رو بالا انداخت. «معلومه.»
آرتور دوباره رفت سراغ اون سوالی که در پرسیدنش استاد بود. «چرا؟»
«چون میترس� که اگه رای ندن مارمولک بدتری بیاد سر کار.»
آرتور گفت «عجیبه. مگه نگفتی که سیارهشو� دموکراسیه؟»
فورد گفت «چرا. گفتم. دموکراسیه. چهطو� مگه؟»
آرتور امیدوار بود که سوالش خیلی احمقانه به نظر نرسه. «خب پس چرا انسانه� خودشون رو از شر مارمولکه� خلاص نمیکنن؟�
فورد گفت «به ذهنشو� نمیرس�. به همین سادگی. همهشو� حق رای دارن و فکر میکن� که دولتی که به� رای دادن کموبی� همونیه که میخوا�.»
«یعنی میخوا� بگی مردم داوطلبانه به مارمولکه� رای میدن؟�
فورد شونهها� رو بالا انداخت. «معلومه.»
آرتور دوباره رفت سراغ اون سوالی که در پرسیدنش استاد بود. «چرا؟»
«چون میترس� که اگه رای ندن مارمولک بدتری بیاد سر کار.»
February 8, 2022
For a moment he felt good about this. A moment or two later he felt bad about feeling good about it. Then he felt good about feeling bad about feeling good about it and, satisfied, drove on into the night.
Simultaneously the most grounded and most absurd entry in the series (let’s see if five can top it) this is a mind-melting fever dream of a book. I loved every page. Adams was a genius.
Simultaneously the most grounded and most absurd entry in the series (let’s see if five can top it) this is a mind-melting fever dream of a book. I loved every page. Adams was a genius.
July 23, 2021
اتمام..
۲ مرداد ۱۴۰۰
ساعت: ۰۱:۱۶
۲ مرداد ۱۴۰۰
ساعت: ۰۱:۱۶
May 20, 2020
This was delicious once again! In fact, it was so delicious that I love this book almost as much as Arthur loves Fenchurch.
Fenchurch, for those of you who don’t know, is a girl Arthur meets back on Earth (yep, he finally made his way back across time, space and parallel universes) and immediately is smitten with. She happens to be the one other human who has figured out the knack about flying. By one of those cosmic coincidences we’ve come to expect in this series, Fenchurch also happens to be the girl who figured out how the world could be made a good and happy place. In book 1, she was stopped from therefore changing the course of human history because she died during the demolition of Earth. In this mirror book, Earth is not getting demolished so nothing stands in her way - except that she's forgotten. Somehow she arrives at the conclusion that the secret to what she's forgotten is God's Final Message to His Creation, which is why she and Arthur want to go and find it.
This installment of the series is seriously rivaling the first (a feat not even volume 3 managed).
From a rain god who doesn’t know that he is a rain god and therefore is miserable because it always rains no matter where he goes, to the Californian "alchemy" of turning excess fat into gold (a serious dig at the diet industry of course) and, brilliantly, the fictionalized version of a real-life event that had happened to DNA and a packet of his biscuits, DNA was up to his usual brilliance in this book. I’m really glad I read this as the finale although, technically, this is volume 4. But trust me when I say that reading this last makes sense on several levels.
So this is a love story. It’s also the author’s farewell, not only by the dolphins, but also to a wonderful universe as well as all the quirky characters inhabiting it (yes, Ford and Marvin are in this, too, never fear). You can see it in the title, obviously. You can also see it right at the beginning as it has almost exactly the same words as book 1, thus brilliantly closing the cycle while still making it just different/unique enough.
Interestingly, while there were a few great zingers in here (for example the one about the people and their lizards), they weren’t as prominent as in the first or third book. Instead, we get this sweet story, a second chance of sorts, completing so many story arcs and making the reader feel good about it all coming to an end. Silliness abound that once again just made perfect sense, which was simultaneously surprising and felt absolutely natural/destined/obvious.
Finishing this series makes me feel utterly happy and gives me a great sense of satisfaction.
Fenchurch, for those of you who don’t know, is a girl Arthur meets back on Earth (yep, he finally made his way back across time, space and parallel universes) and immediately is smitten with. She happens to be the one other human who has figured out the knack about flying. By one of those cosmic coincidences we’ve come to expect in this series, Fenchurch also happens to be the girl who figured out how the world could be made a good and happy place. In book 1, she was stopped from therefore changing the course of human history because she died during the demolition of Earth. In this mirror book, Earth is not getting demolished so nothing stands in her way - except that she's forgotten. Somehow she arrives at the conclusion that the secret to what she's forgotten is God's Final Message to His Creation, which is why she and Arthur want to go and find it.
This installment of the series is seriously rivaling the first (a feat not even volume 3 managed).
From a rain god who doesn’t know that he is a rain god and therefore is miserable because it always rains no matter where he goes, to the Californian "alchemy" of turning excess fat into gold (a serious dig at the diet industry of course) and, brilliantly, the fictionalized version of a real-life event that had happened to DNA and a packet of his biscuits, DNA was up to his usual brilliance in this book. I’m really glad I read this as the finale although, technically, this is volume 4. But trust me when I say that reading this last makes sense on several levels.
So this is a love story. It’s also the author’s farewell, not only by the dolphins, but also to a wonderful universe as well as all the quirky characters inhabiting it (yes, Ford and Marvin are in this, too, never fear). You can see it in the title, obviously. You can also see it right at the beginning as it has almost exactly the same words as book 1, thus brilliantly closing the cycle while still making it just different/unique enough.
Interestingly, while there were a few great zingers in here (for example the one about the people and their lizards), they weren’t as prominent as in the first or third book. Instead, we get this sweet story, a second chance of sorts, completing so many story arcs and making the reader feel good about it all coming to an end. Silliness abound that once again just made perfect sense, which was simultaneously surprising and felt absolutely natural/destined/obvious.
Finishing this series makes me feel utterly happy and gives me a great sense of satisfaction.
June 9, 2008
If any of the inappropriately named Hitchhiker's Guide Trilogy could be called "best", I think this is it. I see two elements setting it apart from the other books in the HHGG series: its tight plot, and the fact that it is at heart a romantic comedy more than a farcical satire of the Science Fiction genre.
As one would expect, the focus of the storyline is the continued pursuit of the Ultimate Question, to which we already know that the Ultimate Answer is "Forty-two".
The characterization of Arthur Dent seems at first to be inconsistent with the Arthur Dent known from the earlier books, until one realizes that this takes place eight years later, as time passes for him. Simply put, Arthur has matured and grown into his own as a Galactic Hitchhiker. He is more confident in who he is, and how to get around, while still maintaining his bumbling ways with women, which naturally leads the reader into the romantic comedy of the story.
I know many people who have never read any of the Hitchhiker's Guide books because they are "not into sci-fi", or simply didn't get much of the humor in the initial trilogy. For them, I think that the prize of getting to this, the fourth book in the (inappropriately named) trilogy, will make reading the first three books worthwhile*.
* Despite an effort by the author to explain within the text of the story links to the previous books, the characters and plot do require prior knowledge.
As one would expect, the focus of the storyline is the continued pursuit of the Ultimate Question, to which we already know that the Ultimate Answer is "Forty-two".
The characterization of Arthur Dent seems at first to be inconsistent with the Arthur Dent known from the earlier books, until one realizes that this takes place eight years later, as time passes for him. Simply put, Arthur has matured and grown into his own as a Galactic Hitchhiker. He is more confident in who he is, and how to get around, while still maintaining his bumbling ways with women, which naturally leads the reader into the romantic comedy of the story.
I know many people who have never read any of the Hitchhiker's Guide books because they are "not into sci-fi", or simply didn't get much of the humor in the initial trilogy. For them, I think that the prize of getting to this, the fourth book in the (inappropriately named) trilogy, will make reading the first three books worthwhile*.
* Despite an effort by the author to explain within the text of the story links to the previous books, the characters and plot do require prior knowledge.
January 7, 2022
سه جلد پیش رو خیلی دوست داشتم ولی این ناامیدم کرد. امیدوارم جلد آخر مثل این جلد نباشه.
Read
March 13, 2011Running on empty: Following a highly productive breakthrough period when he was simultaneously knocking out scripts for both Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Doctor Who, Douglas Adams famously struggled with writer's block during the later half of his career as a novelist. Previous Hitchhiker novel Life, the Universe and Everything was itself a re-worked Doctor Who story, and by the time of 4th Hitchhiker novel So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish you can feel the author struggling to find a story to tell.
If there is a problem with this novel, it's that there simply isn't enough story here. Previous instalments in the Hitchhiker's series may have been short, but they were packed with fantastic mind bending SF concepts, which are almost entirely absent here. The main storyline consists of Arthur Dent returning to a mysteriously no-longer-destroyed Earth, and having a romance with Fenchurch, the girl who in a throwaway line in the original Hitchhiker's novel had a divine revelation on how to achieve world peace just before the Earth was destroyed by the Vogons. Arthur and Fenchurch's romance is touching, especially a chapter where they both fly through the clouds together, but storywise it doesn't really go anywhere - the identity of Earth's saviours is fairly evident from the books title (though incidentally, why is there a picture of a sea lion on the cover - misdirection?), and Fenchurch never remembers her divine plan for world peace.
At the end Adams tags on a coda where Arthur and Fenchurch meet up with Ford Prefect and Marvin (who dies, again) to read God's Last Message To His Creation, following up on the finale of Life, the Universe and Everything, but if anything this feels almost tagged on simply to please the fans of the previous novels. The only ideas that are original to this book, such as the unwilling Rain God, or Wonko's inside-out asylum, are mildly amusing but nothing more.
So Long, and Thanks For All The Fish is by no means a bad novel, and thanks to Adams prose it is engagingly readable, but it is a novel all about character - specifically having a few nice things happen to Arthur Dent for a while- and sorely lacking in plot, so don't expect anything much to actually happen beyond Arthur's romance. A pleasant read for fans of the previous 3 novels in the series, but by this stage Douglas Adams just seems to have run out of ideas, and was grinding a novel out for the sake of it.
January 28, 2022
We apologise for the inconvenience.
I'll let you find out the significance of these words by reading almost to the end of this fourth book in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series.
I read this book many years ago and I found it funnier then than I do know. Something has changed and it's not the book, so it must be me. Has my sense of humour changed or have I read many more books since then which are similar to this one, and so the genre is no longer as interesting?
Anyway, a synopsis of the plot is that Arthur Dent returns to Earth, finds it wasn't destroyed by the Vogons, learns all the dolphins have gone (the title is their parting message) and meets and falls for a girl called Fenchurch (Fenny). Ultimately his desire to return to the stars with Fenny becomes too strong. Before leaving, Arthur meets the Rain God, Rob McKenna and Wonko the Sane. He is also
reunited with Ford Prefect.
At the end of the book, Arthur and Fenny meet the marvellous character of Marvin the Paranoid Android, who is still as funny as ever he was.
I'll let you find out the significance of these words by reading almost to the end of this fourth book in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series.
I read this book many years ago and I found it funnier then than I do know. Something has changed and it's not the book, so it must be me. Has my sense of humour changed or have I read many more books since then which are similar to this one, and so the genre is no longer as interesting?
Anyway, a synopsis of the plot is that Arthur Dent returns to Earth, finds it wasn't destroyed by the Vogons, learns all the dolphins have gone (the title is their parting message) and meets and falls for a girl called Fenchurch (Fenny). Ultimately his desire to return to the stars with Fenny becomes too strong. Before leaving, Arthur meets the Rain God, Rob McKenna and Wonko the Sane. He is also
reunited with Ford Prefect.
At the end of the book, Arthur and Fenny meet the marvellous character of Marvin the Paranoid Android, who is still as funny as ever he was.
September 25, 2024
(بازخوانی دوم)
.➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️
جلد چهارم یکَمی با بقیه جلدها تفاوت داشت.
تفاوتی که "خداحافظ برای همیشه و ممنون بابت اون همه ماهی" با جلدهای قبلی داشت این بود که رومنسش به چشم میاوم� (یعنی خیلی به چشم میاوم� چون در حقیقت جلدهای قبلی رومنسشون در حد صفر درصد بود) و در ازاش یکمی ژانر طنز و علمی-تخیلی بودنش کمتر شده بود.
این موضوع یک نکته� منفی نیست و با خوندن این جلد میتونید متوجه بشید که کاملا مقدمها� برای جلد پنجم محسوب میشه. در کل جلد چهارم نسبت به جلدهای قبلی تفاوتها� فاحشی داشت که برای من جالب بودند.
با وجود این همه تفاوتی که گفتم، اما همچنان خوشخوا� و جذاب بود، قلم نویسنده همچنان گیرا و پر از مطالب عمیق و مفهومی بود.
و همونطور که گفتم، این جلد مقدمها� برای جلد پنجمه و این ویژگیا� بود که جلدهای قبلی خیلی کمتر داشتند و در حد کمی میشد بگیم به هم وابسته هستند (دقت کنید منظورم به این نیست که داستانهای� کاملا جدا داشتند، نه، هر کدوم از جلدها در کنار اینکه یک روند پایدار داشتند و کاملا مثل یک زنجیر به هم وصل بودند اما هر کدوم عنصر مجزای مخصوص به خودشون داشتند) اما برعکس، جلد چهارم کاملا مقدمهس� و یکجور پیشگفتار� برای جلد بعدی محسوب میشه. (امیدوارم به خوبی تونسته باشم منظورمو برسونم)
در کل، این جلد روند متفاوت و جالبی داشت....
و همینطور پایان فوقالعاد� عالی، که از این نویسنده چیزی کمتر از این هم انتظار نمیرفت....
میخواستم 4 ستاره برای جلد بدم اما فقط بخاطر چهار صفحه� آخر، یک ستاره هم اضافه میکنم و نمره� کامل 5 رو بهش میدم...
.➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️➖️
جلد چهارم یکَمی با بقیه جلدها تفاوت داشت.
تفاوتی که "خداحافظ برای همیشه و ممنون بابت اون همه ماهی" با جلدهای قبلی داشت این بود که رومنسش به چشم میاوم� (یعنی خیلی به چشم میاوم� چون در حقیقت جلدهای قبلی رومنسشون در حد صفر درصد بود) و در ازاش یکمی ژانر طنز و علمی-تخیلی بودنش کمتر شده بود.
این موضوع یک نکته� منفی نیست و با خوندن این جلد میتونید متوجه بشید که کاملا مقدمها� برای جلد پنجم محسوب میشه. در کل جلد چهارم نسبت به جلدهای قبلی تفاوتها� فاحشی داشت که برای من جالب بودند.
با وجود این همه تفاوتی که گفتم، اما همچنان خوشخوا� و جذاب بود، قلم نویسنده همچنان گیرا و پر از مطالب عمیق و مفهومی بود.
و همونطور که گفتم، این جلد مقدمها� برای جلد پنجمه و این ویژگیا� بود که جلدهای قبلی خیلی کمتر داشتند و در حد کمی میشد بگیم به هم وابسته هستند (دقت کنید منظورم به این نیست که داستانهای� کاملا جدا داشتند، نه، هر کدوم از جلدها در کنار اینکه یک روند پایدار داشتند و کاملا مثل یک زنجیر به هم وصل بودند اما هر کدوم عنصر مجزای مخصوص به خودشون داشتند) اما برعکس، جلد چهارم کاملا مقدمهس� و یکجور پیشگفتار� برای جلد بعدی محسوب میشه. (امیدوارم به خوبی تونسته باشم منظورمو برسونم)
در کل، این جلد روند متفاوت و جالبی داشت....
و همینطور پایان فوقالعاد� عالی، که از این نویسنده چیزی کمتر از این هم انتظار نمیرفت....
میخواستم 4 ستاره برای جلد بدم اما فقط بخاطر چهار صفحه� آخر، یک ستاره هم اضافه میکنم و نمره� کامل 5 رو بهش میدم...
July 9, 2019
“Scientist must also be absolutely like a child. If he sees a thing, he must say that he sees it, whether it was what he thought he was going to see or not. See first, think later, then test. But always see first. Otherwise you will only see what you were expecting.�
This is my favorite of all the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" books.
I know it kind of defies the whole travel the Galaxy and see the universe idea, but I love that Arthur is content and happy; that he found a like-minded being that likes him back.
Call me a Romantic.
And who can't love John Watson (Wonko the Sane)? He is the first-ever person I know that knows exactly where we live and he is not afraid of being called a fool.
Honestly if you have not read these books; just go pick them up!
You'll laugh so hard... and if you don't what's wrong with you?
This is my favorite of all the "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" books.
I know it kind of defies the whole travel the Galaxy and see the universe idea, but I love that Arthur is content and happy; that he found a like-minded being that likes him back.
Call me a Romantic.
And who can't love John Watson (Wonko the Sane)? He is the first-ever person I know that knows exactly where we live and he is not afraid of being called a fool.
Honestly if you have not read these books; just go pick them up!
You'll laugh so hard... and if you don't what's wrong with you?
March 20, 2024
"Arthur no podía creérselo. Treinta segundos de conversación y ya lo había echado a perder"
Este libro es un giro de tuerca bastante considerable en comparación con el resto de los libros de esta saga, se nota un alejamiento considerable al tono y temática, pudiendo ubicar más por el lado de comedia romántico (si, dije eso) que ciencia ficción y no es que sea malo, de hecho es una relación que puede ser muy divertida pero que aun teniendo a Dent se siente completamente desconectado.
Personalmente la falta de los personajes principales, tanto por la no aparición de Trillian y Zaphod (que la única mención que hacen de ellos fue un WTF para mi) como por la poca interacción entre Arthur y Ford hizo que el libro no me gustará demasiado de hecho, siempre he sentido que es precisamente la relación entre ellos lo que lograba que la historia se sintiera especialmente entretenida por lo que esto fue un no no no para mi.
Aun con todo ello no puedo decir que este libro me desagradara, simplemente se siente un cambio demasiado drástico y que queda plenamente demostrado al inicio cuando Arthur nota la perdida de su Guía del Autoestopista Galáctico y afirma que ya no va a necesitarla .
Este libro es un giro de tuerca bastante considerable en comparación con el resto de los libros de esta saga, se nota un alejamiento considerable al tono y temática, pudiendo ubicar más por el lado de comedia romántico (si, dije eso) que ciencia ficción y no es que sea malo, de hecho es una relación que puede ser muy divertida pero que aun teniendo a Dent se siente completamente desconectado.
Personalmente la falta de los personajes principales, tanto por la no aparición de Trillian y Zaphod (que la única mención que hacen de ellos fue un WTF para mi) como por la poca interacción entre Arthur y Ford hizo que el libro no me gustará demasiado de hecho, siempre he sentido que es precisamente la relación entre ellos lo que lograba que la historia se sintiera especialmente entretenida por lo que esto fue un no no no para mi.
Aun con todo ello no puedo decir que este libro me desagradara, simplemente se siente un cambio demasiado drástico y que queda plenamente demostrado al inicio cuando Arthur nota la perdida de su Guía del Autoestopista Galáctico y afirma que ya no va a necesitarla .
January 23, 2023
I read this book a few years after the previous one, but what I thought was a gradual impoverishment of the story, here is felt even more. The focus of this novel is mainly on Arthur Dent, that we find on Earth, in search of a normal life that has lost. For this reason, there aren’t so many space travels, who were the constant of the first books, guided by the omnipresent Hitchhikers's Guide. In this case, the plot seems rather weak, with some inconsistency with respect to the previous book and the reader jumps from one event to another, without knowing where it will go. Centered on Arthur, the story is totally missing of Zaphod and Trillian. What in the first books was a fun and brilliant style, starts to get heavy, even if the fantasy is, however, indisputable.
To read if you want to complete the series.
To read if you want to complete the series.
December 4, 2024
This is the fourth book in the series and I was a little disappointed with this one. There was a lot of romance involving Arthur which i maybe just wasn’t in the mood for and seemed central to the plot. Unfortunately there weren’t many other characters present. Some highlights to note were the Rain God and brief appearances by Ford.
Martin Freeman does an excellent job and I expect was blushing on a few occasions. Wonder how many takes went into the semi-steamy sections..
Martin Freeman does an excellent job and I expect was blushing on a few occasions. Wonder how many takes went into the semi-steamy sections..
February 17, 2025
۵/۵
این کتاب احتمالا چارمینگ ترین کتاب این مجموعهس� و احتمالا بریتیشتری� چیزی که میخونی� و احتمالا بهترین علمی تخیلی دنیا نیست ولی اون گونه� نادر از علمی تخیلیه که وقتی حالتون خوش نیست برای تلطیف� و روان برید سراغش و توی سوراخ سمبهها� گم بشید.
این کتاب احتمالا چارمینگ ترین کتاب این مجموعهس� و احتمالا بریتیشتری� چیزی که میخونی� و احتمالا بهترین علمی تخیلی دنیا نیست ولی اون گونه� نادر از علمی تخیلیه که وقتی حالتون خوش نیست برای تلطیف� و روان برید سراغش و توی سوراخ سمبهها� گم بشید.
June 14, 2012
The fourth installment in the Hitchhiker series is something of an anomaly. Virtually the entire story takes place on Earth, and major characters like Zaphod and Trillian are nowhere to be found. The focus is on Arthur Dent: after years of being kicked around by the universe, poor Arthur finally finds himself in a good old fashioned love story.
Well, maybe “old fashioned� is a poor choice of words. This is a Douglas Adams book after all, and it features robots, spaceships, and a man named Wonko the Sane. But the lunacy has definitely been dialed back, and this really is a love story. Arthur inexplicably finds himself back on what appears to be the Earth, and is quickly smitten. He spends some time investigating how the hell he could be back on Earth considering it was destroyed in the first book, sure, but the story is principally concerned with Arthur and:
”What is he, man or mouse? Is he interested with nothing more than tea and the wider issues of life? Has he no spirit? Has he no passion? Does he not, to put it in a nutshell, fuck? Those who wish to know should read on. Others may wish to skip on to the last chapter which is a good bit and has Marvin in it.�
Before diving into this series for the third time, I considered this book to be the weakest of the five. But I was pleasantly surprised during this reread. It doesn’t have the frenzied energy that the first couple of books have, but Adams proves that he doesn’t need an interstellar stage to write truly hysterical prose (there’s a scene with two men sharing biscuits at a train station that’s up there with anything in the entire series). I think it’s the third best Hitchhiker book: behind books 1 and 2, but better than books 3 and 5.
Oh, and the ending (which is in fact a good bit, and does contain Marvin) is a corker. 4 stars.
Reread in January, 2004 and June, 2012.
Well, maybe “old fashioned� is a poor choice of words. This is a Douglas Adams book after all, and it features robots, spaceships, and a man named Wonko the Sane. But the lunacy has definitely been dialed back, and this really is a love story. Arthur inexplicably finds himself back on what appears to be the Earth, and is quickly smitten. He spends some time investigating how the hell he could be back on Earth considering it was destroyed in the first book, sure, but the story is principally concerned with Arthur and:
”What is he, man or mouse? Is he interested with nothing more than tea and the wider issues of life? Has he no spirit? Has he no passion? Does he not, to put it in a nutshell, fuck? Those who wish to know should read on. Others may wish to skip on to the last chapter which is a good bit and has Marvin in it.�
Before diving into this series for the third time, I considered this book to be the weakest of the five. But I was pleasantly surprised during this reread. It doesn’t have the frenzied energy that the first couple of books have, but Adams proves that he doesn’t need an interstellar stage to write truly hysterical prose (there’s a scene with two men sharing biscuits at a train station that’s up there with anything in the entire series). I think it’s the third best Hitchhiker book: behind books 1 and 2, but better than books 3 and 5.
Oh, and the ending (which is in fact a good bit, and does contain Marvin) is a corker. 4 stars.
Reread in January, 2004 and June, 2012.
February 9, 2017
Hitchhiker's, volume 4.
This is noticeably less good than it's three predecessors, particularly in terms of plot, but it still has plenty of splashes of brilliance:
Arthur and Fenchurch fly.
Wonko the Sane declaring the world beyond his inside-out house is an asylum.
Rob McKenna is a rain god but doesn't know it - only that it always rains wherever he goes - the loving clouds just want to water him.
"All eyes were on Ford Prefect. Some of them were on stalks".
"As stunned as a man might be who, having believed himself to be totally blind for 5 years, suddenly discovers that he had merely been wearing too large a hat" (one for or from Blackadder, surely).
"She seemed to be looking at something other than what she looked as if she was looking at".
"Waited and waited for the nothing that he knew was about to happen. As the time came for it not to happen, it duly didn't happen".
"The recurring impression he had that just when he was least expecting it, the universe would suddenly leap out from behind a door and go boo at him".
A hotel "they would enjoy being puzzled by".
Two women looking at the Pacific for the first time and one says "It's not as big as I expected".
A & F find God's final message to creation ("We apologise for the inconvenience").
Brief summary and favourite quotes from the other four of the five books, as follows:
Hitchhiker's Guide (vol 1):
Restaurant at the End of Universe (vol 2):
Life, the Universe and Everything (vol 3):
Mostly Harmless (vol 5):
And Another Thing...(vol 6), by Eoin Colfer : /review/show...
This is noticeably less good than it's three predecessors, particularly in terms of plot, but it still has plenty of splashes of brilliance:
Arthur and Fenchurch fly.
Wonko the Sane declaring the world beyond his inside-out house is an asylum.
Rob McKenna is a rain god but doesn't know it - only that it always rains wherever he goes - the loving clouds just want to water him.
"All eyes were on Ford Prefect. Some of them were on stalks".
"As stunned as a man might be who, having believed himself to be totally blind for 5 years, suddenly discovers that he had merely been wearing too large a hat" (one for or from Blackadder, surely).
"She seemed to be looking at something other than what she looked as if she was looking at".
"Waited and waited for the nothing that he knew was about to happen. As the time came for it not to happen, it duly didn't happen".
"The recurring impression he had that just when he was least expecting it, the universe would suddenly leap out from behind a door and go boo at him".
A hotel "they would enjoy being puzzled by".
Two women looking at the Pacific for the first time and one says "It's not as big as I expected".
A & F find God's final message to creation ("We apologise for the inconvenience").
Brief summary and favourite quotes from the other four of the five books, as follows:
Hitchhiker's Guide (vol 1):
Restaurant at the End of Universe (vol 2):
Life, the Universe and Everything (vol 3):
Mostly Harmless (vol 5):
And Another Thing...(vol 6), by Eoin Colfer : /review/show...
October 10, 2015
Addio e grazie per il buonumore
Se alla quarta puntata della serie iniziata con la “Guida galattica per autostoppisti� sono ancora a svagarmi nei romanzi di questo sottovalutato geniaccio di Douglas Adams è soprattutto per il buonumore che ogni volta la sua lettura mi procura.
Pur essendo ben lontano dai vertici della narrativa, questo humour tipicamente inglese, che flirta col non-sense e richiama lo spirito dei Monty Python e la fantasia creativa di Kurt Vonnegut (che non è inglese ma in qusta compagnia ci sta�) ha la sottile capacità di divertire, divertire e divertire.
Attraverso episodi abbastanza brevi da evitare lo sbadiglio, ma sviluppati a sufficienza per andare oltre la facile battuta e la situazione semplicemente buffa, si procede a buona andatura e alla fine il giudizio dipende più dalla propria disponibilità a farsi portare un po� in giro con leggerezza che dal valore intrinseco del libro, pressoché analogo agli episodi che lo hanno preceduto. Da qualche parte devo averlo già scritto, ma ribadisco che, se si è trovata insoddisfacente la lettura della “Guida Galattica�, è meglio lasciar perdere�
Se alla quarta puntata della serie iniziata con la “Guida galattica per autostoppisti� sono ancora a svagarmi nei romanzi di questo sottovalutato geniaccio di Douglas Adams è soprattutto per il buonumore che ogni volta la sua lettura mi procura.
Pur essendo ben lontano dai vertici della narrativa, questo humour tipicamente inglese, che flirta col non-sense e richiama lo spirito dei Monty Python e la fantasia creativa di Kurt Vonnegut (che non è inglese ma in qusta compagnia ci sta�) ha la sottile capacità di divertire, divertire e divertire.
Attraverso episodi abbastanza brevi da evitare lo sbadiglio, ma sviluppati a sufficienza per andare oltre la facile battuta e la situazione semplicemente buffa, si procede a buona andatura e alla fine il giudizio dipende più dalla propria disponibilità a farsi portare un po� in giro con leggerezza che dal valore intrinseco del libro, pressoché analogo agli episodi che lo hanno preceduto. Da qualche parte devo averlo già scritto, ma ribadisco che, se si è trovata insoddisfacente la lettura della “Guida Galattica�, è meglio lasciar perdere�
May 27, 2022
Less funny and engaging unlike the previous books.
November 16, 2016
Sorry for the Inconvenience
16 November 2016
When I first read this book I loved it namely because I happened to be a hopeless romantic and our protagonist, Arthur Dent, finally gets a girlfriend. Well, finally is probably not the best way to describe it because Adams does raise the possibility that Arthur may have had a relationship with Trillian (and when the question is metaphorically asked the reply is basically 'none of your business'), and also suggests that there is a rather long gap between books two and three where we end with Arthur together with a Gulgafringan and then beginning again years later with Arthur by himself in a cave (having discovered that all the Gulgafringans has died off, just because).
Anyway, more time has passed since the end of book three and the beginning of book four and we once again meet up with Arthur, who happens to be standing in the rain at the side of the road on a planet that looks remarkably like Earth, and in fact happens to be Earth. Okay, there are a couple of minor differences, though I would hardly call not having been blown up by the Vogon Constructor Fleet as being a minor difference (though Arthur's house still standing, in the grand scheme of things, is). However there is also the fact that the dolphins have still vanished, and everybody happens to have a fish bowl with the inscription 'so long and thanks for all the fish' upon it.
The thing about this particular book is that it is more of a romance than the other books in the series, which sort of gives it a different feel. The other thing is that for a bulk of the book the story is set not only on Earth, but both Arthur and Ford are going their separate ways � it isn't until we get close to the end that the two once again come together, but it is only for a short while as Arthur and his girlfriend (Fenchurch, so called because she was conceived in the ticket line at Fenchurch Street station, though my only experience of Fenchurch Street station is having a meal at a pub underneath it) head off to try and find God's final message to humanity (or the Universe to be precise).
It also goes back into the old style where there is little to no plot and the main characters just seem to stumble around trying to work out what is going on, only to discover that the answer that they were looking for, in this case God's final message, is a piece of absurdity. Actually, there is sort of a plot, but not in the same sense that Life, The Universe, and Everything had a plot. Rather it involves the main characters continuing their search for meaning, and when they finally discover this meaning, as I mentioned, and as is the case in the other books, the answer that they were looking for turns out to be absurd. In a way it even seems as if God's message to the world is not so much an answer to the reason why we are here, namely because there doesn't seem to be any real reason at all, at least in Adam's mind.
In a way I guess this is where our secular society is heading, even though many people in the Western realms still seem to consider themselves connected to some form of religion. Mind you, when you head out of the cities you do tend to discover a much more religious, and conservative, culture, but that has a lot to do with the country being very conservative, and new ideas filter in much more slowly (if ever). In a way, with their religious outlook, people in the country still seem to have a sense of purpose, a sense of belonging, and a sense of identity. However, once you head into the cities, and into the realms of the intellectuals, this traditional purpose and reasoning suddenly seems to get thrown out the door. In a way it is this rejection of religion that leads to these rather absurd views of the universe, and meaningless understanding of life.
However, we aren't necessarily the first, or only, people in the history of the world because many other civilisations, particularly those who eventually freed themselves of the tyranny of a king, because in a such a system the purpose and meaning of life is to serve the king, but then one wonders whether the king, who seems to exist in this world to be served, would eventually suffer an existentialist crisis. I'm not sure, particularly is the king never really gave it that much thought � it is only the intellectuals that would start thinking along those lines since most of the kings would probably just be incredibly self-absorbed.
As for this book, well it is much shorter, and a lot different, than the other entries in this series, and while I may have gushed over Arthur's romance when I was younger, these days it is a lot different as I am somewhat (or a lot) over that hopeless romantic streak that I used to have. As for the story, it is okay, and the message is interesting, but in the end the first two were much, much better (and this one was quite a lot less funnier as well). Oh, and the fact that Arthur, and to an extent Fenchurch, can fly really doesn't appeal to me all that much.
16 November 2016
When I first read this book I loved it namely because I happened to be a hopeless romantic and our protagonist, Arthur Dent, finally gets a girlfriend. Well, finally is probably not the best way to describe it because Adams does raise the possibility that Arthur may have had a relationship with Trillian (and when the question is metaphorically asked the reply is basically 'none of your business'), and also suggests that there is a rather long gap between books two and three where we end with Arthur together with a Gulgafringan and then beginning again years later with Arthur by himself in a cave (having discovered that all the Gulgafringans has died off, just because).
Anyway, more time has passed since the end of book three and the beginning of book four and we once again meet up with Arthur, who happens to be standing in the rain at the side of the road on a planet that looks remarkably like Earth, and in fact happens to be Earth. Okay, there are a couple of minor differences, though I would hardly call not having been blown up by the Vogon Constructor Fleet as being a minor difference (though Arthur's house still standing, in the grand scheme of things, is). However there is also the fact that the dolphins have still vanished, and everybody happens to have a fish bowl with the inscription 'so long and thanks for all the fish' upon it.
The thing about this particular book is that it is more of a romance than the other books in the series, which sort of gives it a different feel. The other thing is that for a bulk of the book the story is set not only on Earth, but both Arthur and Ford are going their separate ways � it isn't until we get close to the end that the two once again come together, but it is only for a short while as Arthur and his girlfriend (Fenchurch, so called because she was conceived in the ticket line at Fenchurch Street station, though my only experience of Fenchurch Street station is having a meal at a pub underneath it) head off to try and find God's final message to humanity (or the Universe to be precise).
It also goes back into the old style where there is little to no plot and the main characters just seem to stumble around trying to work out what is going on, only to discover that the answer that they were looking for, in this case God's final message, is a piece of absurdity. Actually, there is sort of a plot, but not in the same sense that Life, The Universe, and Everything had a plot. Rather it involves the main characters continuing their search for meaning, and when they finally discover this meaning, as I mentioned, and as is the case in the other books, the answer that they were looking for turns out to be absurd. In a way it even seems as if God's message to the world is not so much an answer to the reason why we are here, namely because there doesn't seem to be any real reason at all, at least in Adam's mind.
In a way I guess this is where our secular society is heading, even though many people in the Western realms still seem to consider themselves connected to some form of religion. Mind you, when you head out of the cities you do tend to discover a much more religious, and conservative, culture, but that has a lot to do with the country being very conservative, and new ideas filter in much more slowly (if ever). In a way, with their religious outlook, people in the country still seem to have a sense of purpose, a sense of belonging, and a sense of identity. However, once you head into the cities, and into the realms of the intellectuals, this traditional purpose and reasoning suddenly seems to get thrown out the door. In a way it is this rejection of religion that leads to these rather absurd views of the universe, and meaningless understanding of life.
However, we aren't necessarily the first, or only, people in the history of the world because many other civilisations, particularly those who eventually freed themselves of the tyranny of a king, because in a such a system the purpose and meaning of life is to serve the king, but then one wonders whether the king, who seems to exist in this world to be served, would eventually suffer an existentialist crisis. I'm not sure, particularly is the king never really gave it that much thought � it is only the intellectuals that would start thinking along those lines since most of the kings would probably just be incredibly self-absorbed.
As for this book, well it is much shorter, and a lot different, than the other entries in this series, and while I may have gushed over Arthur's romance when I was younger, these days it is a lot different as I am somewhat (or a lot) over that hopeless romantic streak that I used to have. As for the story, it is okay, and the message is interesting, but in the end the first two were much, much better (and this one was quite a lot less funnier as well). Oh, and the fact that Arthur, and to an extent Fenchurch, can fly really doesn't appeal to me all that much.
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