Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul
Submitted by Reviewer (not verified) on 13 October, 2005 - 22:06.
Some Book Reviews
| Douglas Adams: Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul |
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| Author | Douglas Adams | | Made | Pocket | | Date | 1991-02-15 | | Media | Mass Market Paperback | | Catalog | Book | | Sales Rank | 15829 | | Availability | Usually ships in 24 hours | | Our Price* | US$7.99 |
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Reviews:| Rating 4.5/5 from 66 reviews | | Norse Gods? Dirk Gently? What could be better? | | Rating: 5/5 2006-07-26 | I've always loved Norse Mythology, and the re-vamp Adams gives certain classic characters in this novel is absolutely spectacular. I love all Adams' works for different reasons - They're all ridiculous and wonderfully wacky, but the Dirk Gently books are a bit calmer and seem rather more thoughtful and less facetious than Hitchhiker's Guide.
Odin as an old man whose biggest character trait is pickiness about the state of his sheets, Thor as a thunder-hammer toting tough guy, these are just two of the marvelous cast of mythological creatures who inhabit this gem of a book. Imagine coming home to find a huge mythological Eagle tearing up your kitchen? Pretty funny, right? So . . . read this book, it's very much worth it. | | The ideas just weren't clicking | | Rating: 3/5 2006-07-21 | | I'm sure that the fact that it took me over a month to read is part of the problem, but the title seemed more related to my experience of reading the book than the content of the storyline. I mean, I don't think I laughed once through the last half of the book. The ideas just weren't clicking, and even his characters were depressed. I don't think DNA enjoyed writing this one. Or, at least, the last half. The first half was great. I laughed until I cried, that sort of thing. He was so creative and amazingly funny, and I really want to try to practice personifications like he could do. But the last half I didn't like so much. | | Near Perfection | | Rating: 4/5 2006-05-29 | | Receives four stars instead of five only because of abrupt ending. Like all of Adams, is funny, poignant and enjoyable. Life is short, and this book is a good way to get more of it. | | Read the Hitchhiker's Guide instead | | Rating: 1/5 2006-01-10 | | It pains me to write it, but this book was bad. I thoroughly enjoy most of Douglas Adams' work especially the Hitchhiker's series. Unfortunately, he missed the mark with this book. I personally believe Adams wanted this book to be very funny, ala, the Hitchhiker books (others disagree), since it was: strike one. The storyline was quite complex, which would be fine, but I'm not 100% certain this is what Adams was trying to do: strike two. Finally, Dirk Gentry just is not equal to Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect (Hitchhiker's main characters) in terms of full, colorful characters, the final strike. Maybe it was my high expectations after reading the Hitchhiker series, which I found incredibly entertaining at 14, 24 and 34 years of age (for different reasons). | | The Improbabilities of Private Investigation | | Rating: 5/5 (5 out of 5 think this is helpful) 2005-11-30 | I must admit that I have not read the precusor to the Dirk Gently series, but do not feel that this put me at a loss in reading this novel. Douglas Adams has developed an entire world within a world that makes little sense but is smashing fun (if a little confusing to read). "The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul" is a fast-paced mystery filled with humor, satire, and the kitchen refrigerator.
A mysterious accident occurs at Heathrow Airport in which a check-in desk and its attendent disappear in a ball of flame. Without any other reason, the occurence is written off as an act of God. But the question remains as to which god would do such a thing. It is up to Dirk Gently, holistic detective, to try to uncover the mystery that spans two worlds and gods among mortals. If only he can figure out what that has to do with his recently decapitated client as he embarks on the most miserable day of his life.
"The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul" can be initially confusing since Adams skips between two characters' narrations and the storyline is far-fetched, to say the least. But the story all comes together in the end, perhaps a little too quickly and summarily, to solve the mystery and ensure that the immortals are in their right place and not messing in the affairs of humans. The plot is wickedly brillant; a refreshing escape from the mundane. |
Editorials:Book DescriptionWhen a passenger check-in desk at London's Heathrow Airport disappears in a ball of orange flame, the explosion is deemed an act of God. But which god, wonders holistic detective Dirk Gently? What god would be hanging around Heathrow trying to catch the 3:37 to Oslo? And what has this to do with Dirk's latest--and late-- client, found only this morning with his head revolving atop the hit record "Hot Potato"? Amid the hostile attentions of a stray eagle and the trauma of a very dirty refrigerator, super-sleuth Dirk Gently will once again solve the mysteries of the universe...
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