The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul
by Douglas Adams
published
February 2001
(first published 1988)
by McArthur & Co / New Millennium
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binding
Audio Cassette
isbn
1590070607
(isbn13: 9781590070604)
description
When 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...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 5103)
Read in January, 1988
recommends it for:
mostly wackos I guess
"It can hardly be a coincidence that no language on earth has ever produced the expression "As pretty as an airport."...this ugliness arises because airports are full of people who are tired, cross, and have just discovered that their luggage has landed in Murmansk (Murmansk airport is the only known exception to this otherwise infallible rule), and architects have on the whole tried to reflect this in their designs.
They have sought to highlight the tiredness and crossness mot...more
They have sought to highlight the tiredness and crossness mot...more
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Lots of hilarious moments, though the pacing's not quite up to the level set in the first Dirk Gently book. The ending especially feels rushed - he spends a long time building up this fantastic web of complexity, and then rips it down with a climax and ending that together are barely longer than "But it all worked out okay in the end."
But, as a math student working through too many proofs right now, I really love Dirk's way of thinking! ...especially his reversal of Sherlock-Holmes...more
But, as a math student working through too many proofs right now, I really love Dirk's way of thinking! ...especially his reversal of Sherlock-Holmes...more
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Read in March, 2004
recommends it for:
those who like their alternative universes well-leavened with humour
Continuing in my Douglas Adams re-read, I checked out Long Dark Tea Time of the Soul from the library, as I seem to have misplaced my copy.
The story opens with Kate Schechter attempting to catch a flight to Oslo, even though Fate seems to be conspiring against her. An explosion, deemed an "act of God" confounds her plans. She becomes involved in the events around whom the god involved in the aforementioned act are developing.
Meanwhile, Dirk Gently, holistic detective, remembe...more
The story opens with Kate Schechter attempting to catch a flight to Oslo, even though Fate seems to be conspiring against her. An explosion, deemed an "act of God" confounds her plans. She becomes involved in the events around whom the god involved in the aforementioned act are developing.
Meanwhile, Dirk Gently, holistic detective, remembe...more
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Read in June, 2006
Unlike his “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” series (a collection of humorous vignettes without much of a plot, continuity, or character development), Douglas Adams’ Dirk Gently series (two novels and some sketches for a third one, included in the “Salmon of Doubt”) is in fact literature of the first degree. In the second novel, “The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul,” Dirk Gently, a private “holistic” investigator (an eccentric slob, perpetually broke, capricious, silly, and w...more
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Read in August, 2008
There isn't a lot I have to say about this one, only that Douglas Adams really stands the test of time. I was in early college when I read most of the Hitchhiker's series, and coming back to this one after being away so long only made me remember all the humor, humanity, simplicity, and brilliance of this man.
That being said, this one lacks a certain "instant classic" feel given to the earlier Hitchhiker's books. Still, at the end of this book even if I felt that I still didn't re...more
That being said, this one lacks a certain "instant classic" feel given to the earlier Hitchhiker's books. Still, at the end of this book even if I felt that I still didn't re...more
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I first feel in love with Douglas Adams on watching the TV version of ‘The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy’ and then discovering the then Hitch Hiker novels. When Adams published ‘Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency’ I was half expecting to be disappointed assuming that it could never hold a candle up to the brilliance of the Hitch Hiker books. I was proven gravely wrong and the first Dirk Gently novel was, and indeed still is, my favourite novel of all time and so I was anticipat...more
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Read in January, 1990
recommends it for:
Douglas Adams fans
Unfortunately, Adams' sequel to Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency isn't as tightly-written as its predecessor. On the sentence level, Adams is still writing furiously funny jokes, but The Long, Dark Tea-Time of the Soul ends up feeling like first-class humor wrapped loosely around second-class plot and characters. Adams has been accused of writing punchlines rather than plots, and it shows in this book perhaps more so than anywhere else. I also thought the book's flow suffere...more
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Read in November, 2005
recommends it for:
Fantasy readers, sci fi readers, theology readers, humor readers
Adams' bizarre book is more of an adventure than a mystery, and more of a picaresque than an adventure. It's true, this plot wanders and is flimsy at times, but Adams always makes up for it with clever insights and hilarious jokes. Minor events mushroom at the end to unexpected relevance, a very bold literary move that would be a sign of laziness if these moves didn't work and we didn't recognize Adams' competence as a writer from the execution of his humor throughout. Fantasy readers and Adams'...more
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Read in May, 2008
The second in the Dirk Gently detective series. Dirk is back, but business is lousy. No one wants to hire detectives, it seems. When Dirk finaaly gets a client, it appears to be a crazed rich man, terrified of a large, hairy monster with green eyes and a scythe, who keeps appearing out of nowhere and saying something about a contract that is due. The next day, however, when he is five hours late meeting his client, he finds him dead, his head having been removed and revolving rock LP record....more
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Read in January, 1988
recommends it for:
Hitch Hikers fans
It takes a brave man to move away from the series of books which made his name, and his fortune. But Douglas Adams had other stories to tell. This book is the second 'Dirk Gently', the adventures of the 'holistic' detective.
The ideas that Adams explores in this book have a very 'Hitch Hikers' feel to them (suitably, warmly silly). And every time I take a trip to London I'm reminded of this book as I arrive in St. Pancras station. It's recently been restored to its former glory, and I love t...more
The ideas that Adams explores in this book have a very 'Hitch Hikers' feel to them (suitably, warmly silly). And every time I take a trip to London I'm reminded of this book as I arrive in St. Pancras station. It's recently been restored to its former glory, and I love t...more
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Read in July, 2007
Long Dark Teatime of the Soul is the second of Douglas Adams' Dirk Gently books, the first of which I reread about a month ago. Like the first, this is the story of an average person (in this case, a woman) to whom extraordinary things start happening. This time, it is the gods (Norse gods, for some reason) who are acting up - but fortunately, Dirk Gently is there to unravel the events in his own way. Much hilarity ensues. Although this is maybe not quite as strong a book as DG's Holistic Detect...more
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Read in January, 1990
There are some days where you wake up and everything seems to be headed in a downward direction. Where everything is kind of confusing and you aren't terribly sure that you are currently in step with the rest of the world. Dirk Gently is like this in the good way, although at several times in this book you will be certain that I am a liar. Once you figure out that you are right, and that I am right, you will likely have finished this book and be as fully puzzled by it as I was.
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Read in May, 2007
Starts out as though it's going to be better than the original 'Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency' was, but ends on a low point. Overall a satisfying read, but it shouldn't be read by anyone who hasn't done Dirk Gently itself yet.
Basically, it feels like Adams ran out of energy and just quit at the end, because it's a horrible, horrible ending. The rest is quite entertaining, however, particularly the crime scene at the house, and all scenes involving Thor.
Basically, it feels like Adams ran out of energy and just quit at the end, because it's a horrible, horrible ending. The rest is quite entertaining, however, particularly the crime scene at the house, and all scenes involving Thor.
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Read in January, 1994
I love this book! It's so quirky and silly. I've read it at least twenty times, it's one of those books I like to read when I'm feeling bummed out.
One of my favorite details, is the way Dirk Gently [main character:] figure out how to get wherever he is going: he just follows a car that looks like it know where it is going.
[It was given first to my mom by an American poetess, whose name escapes me right now, who was visiting Peredelkino one summer...:]
One of my favorite details, is the way Dirk Gently [main character:] figure out how to get wherever he is going: he just follows a car that looks like it know where it is going.
[It was given first to my mom by an American poetess, whose name escapes me right now, who was visiting Peredelkino one summer...:]
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A bit disappointing, actually. It was good--don't get me wrong--but not quite what I was hoping for. The Arthur Dent character adds a lot to the richness of Adams' narratives, and this book doesn't have anyone to act as a foil in quite the same way. It muted a lot of the humor for me, and left me without any real emotional anchor. Dirk Gently is interesting and fun, but too eccentric to play the same role.
Still, better than I could do. :)
Still, better than I could do. :)
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Read in August, 2007
My favorite line from this book:
"I've had the sort of day that would make Saint Francis of Assisi kick babies."
My second-favorite line comes later in the same paragraph:
"The only thing I can say in favor of the whole shebang is that at least I'm not in Oslo."
Like other books by Douglas Adams, "The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul" is occasionally very funny and occasionally tedious.
It should have had more about tea.
"I've had the sort of day that would make Saint Francis of Assisi kick babies."
My second-favorite line comes later in the same paragraph:
"The only thing I can say in favor of the whole shebang is that at least I'm not in Oslo."
Like other books by Douglas Adams, "The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul" is occasionally very funny and occasionally tedious.
It should have had more about tea.
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in December, 2007
I am loving this book. It is a quiet, thoughtful, entertaining meander through post-modern culture and relationships. I love the Dirk Gently character. He is a holistic Detective- which means he believes that everything is inter-connected, nothing is by chance or truly random. One thing that can seem inconsequential can actually be the key or even the answer to your greatest questions.
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Read in August, 2008
A bit less genius here than in the first Dirk Gently book, but still this is a great thing to read. Just not as "complete" as it should be, as the ending comes rather early and character relationships have that unfinished feeling... The humour is great though, and it also has Tor, God of Thunder, so who can complain, really? Oh, and the part with the refrigerator is absolutely true.
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Read in March, 2006
I love Douglas Adams' books.. They are SO RANDOM, which is my kind of funny, so I found them hilarious! They contain a lot of spaceship/science talk which for the most part doesn't make sense, but if you have any background in physics and can understand what he's implying, it makes it all the funnier. But no matter your background, you will finish with a big fat "WHAT THE...??"
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Read in January, 2005
recommends it for:
everyone!
I used to be obsessed with Greek mythology, and would sometimes think, "What if the Greeks were right, and everything is run by gods who are barely different than people?" This book takes it to the next logical level: if the gods of mythology really exist, how the hell would they cope in today's world?
It is simply amazing. I love everything about this book.
It is simply amazing. I love everything about this book.
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