Having always been a huge fan of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to
the Galaxy (H2G2) I was slightly surprised with myself at taking so long to
begin reading Douglas Adams’ Dirk Gently novels. I guess part of me didn’t
believe that they’d live up to the H2G2 and so I was loathe to try them in case
they disappointed. The first one, Dirk Gently’s Holisitic Detective Agency was
only “not bad” so it was with a slight sense of trepidation that I approached
#2, The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul (hereafter
referred to as LDT).
It has taken me so long to review this because, to be
honest, I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about it! Douglas Adams has
always had a somewhat disconcerting effect on some people. Maybe it is his
quirky sense of humour or his “grasshopper” mind which never seems to stay on
the same topic for long. Or it could be something else. Usually I’m in tune
with his method but I’m genuinely flummoxed with this one.
Sometimes I think it is pure genius and I can crack through
page after page almost in tears from laughing. Other times I don’t really
understand what is going on and find even a few pages a very hard slog. LDT is
a very surreal experience, mimicking Adams’ own mind and the methodology of his
creation. Gently is at times genius, infuriating and often just plain odd and
the plot is similarly patchy.
Certain parts of the story don’t seem to fit, the overall
plot kind of makes sense but elements of it just feel as though they aren’t in
the right place or at the right time. I found a few of the storylines that are
being wound together to be tight and coherent and others just seemed like
they’d been copied in from elsewhere by accident. It was hard to really get
into this book unless I was really concentrating – which isn’t really Adams’
style I don’t think.
The characters were similarly hard to get around. Having
read the first Dirk Gently book I was at least prepared for him, but the others
didn’t fire the imagination or really draw me in to the story in the way I like
to be.
Overall it has proven very difficult to get a handle on this
one, it is probably the most confused I’ve been at the end of a book in terms
of my feelings about it.
Some parts of it I loved, others I didn’t. Sometimes the
story flew by, other times it dragged and seemed to tie itself in knots that
needed a rather large spade for extrication. I wouldn’t recommend this to
anyone, but curiously enough I would also say that everyone who likes Adams and
his style should read it!
Verdict: 3.5 stars
out of 5 – Give it a go of you like Adams and the sort of irreverence his
books bring. Just don’t be surprised if you get to the end and don’t really
know how you feel about it!
Till nex time,
DT
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