The Salmon of Doubt (Hardcover)

Additional material includes introductions by Stephen Fry and editor Peter Guzzardi (who stitched together the Salmon fragment from disk drafts), The Guardian's Adams biography, Richard Dawkins' farewell piece, and the order of the memorial service.

The non-fiction by the man himself ranges from perhaps a dozen meaty articles and speeches to brief squibs, interview/questionnaire answers and tiny asides like:

We are stuck with technology when what we really want is just stuff that works. How do you recognise something that is still technology? A good clue is if it comes with a manual.

There are enjoyable pieces on computers (especially), atheism, dogs, manta rays on the Great Barrier Reef, the Save the Rhino stunt climb, and PG Wodehouse. Much of the rest is ephemeral; you can't help reflecting that Adams himself never chose to collect all this lightweight newspaper work.

Lovers of his fiction will welcome the Hitch-Hiker-related short stories "The Private Life of Genghis Khan" and "Young Zaphod Plays It Safe", despite the latter's dreadfully dated political punch line.

What of The Salmon of Doubt itself, a quarter of this book? There's a glimpse of a far-future estate agent's utopia, a woman asking Dirk Gently to investigate a cat that's literally only half there (his puzzling reluctance to take the case may echo Adams' own feelings about the novel), Gently's capricious trip to America in response to an unknown client's total lack of instructions, the tragic death of a rhino as perceived by the rhino... Many teasing questions; we'll never know the answers.

Overall it's a must-have for devoted Adams fans and completists, a likely disappointment (though with pleasant exceptions) for new readers. --David Langford

Review
'Douglas Adams created a new comic genre, and peopled a whole other world through his work' Financial Times*** 'His ability to connect cosmic ideas with the banal commonplaces of everyday life was unique' Stephen Fry*** 'With his fondness for paradox, his galactic perspective on things and his wonderful way with meaningful nonsense, his are the books that have launched a trillion quips... the Lewis Carroll of the twentieth century' Observer

Unsurprisingly, when Douglas Adams died in May 2001 he was working on a novel. The ten chapters of the latest Dirk Gently story were recovered from his beloved Macintosh computer, along with an amazing range of non-fiction pieces which have been put together in a collection that perfectly celebrates his fabulous strain of genius. Stephen Fry introduces the book in his own inimitable style, noting that, 'we never quite knew how conflicting and insane the universe was or how ludicrous and feeble minded the human race could be until Douglas explained it in the uniquely affable, paradoxical and unforced style that marked him out for greatness'. Reading through an extraordinary collection organized into the (inevitable) structure of Life, the Universe and Everything, you are immediately immersed in the life and talent of this amazing writer. Included are an earnest 12-year-old Douglas's letter to the Eagle magazine, recollections of his loathing of short trousers and insights into a teenage mind obsessed with the Beatles. The true depth of his understanding of our natural, technological and philosophical worlds becomes apparent from his passionate articles and lectures. His breadth of perspective is revealed with insightful analysis in articles on religion, the letter Y and his love affair with two dogs in New Mexico. Interviews, columns, letters and short stories somehow seem to fit together perfectly. About a third of the book is dedicated to The Salmon of Doubt, which was assembled from various versions of the work-in-progress. Dirk Gently, hired by someone he never meets, to do a job that is never specified, starts following people at random. He is simultaneously on the trail of half a cat and an actor whose sudden appearance is perhaps not as random as it seems. Many tantalizing questions are raised, to which we will now never know the answers. This is a magical collection that celebrates Douglas Adams's life and brilliant observations. It might be a touch too much insanity for new readers - but then they should stop messing around and go and read all Adams's other books first - but it's simply a must-have last word for Hitchhiker and Dirk Gently fans. (Kirkus UK)

Posthumous trunkful of items found on four beloved Mac computers belonging to the late high-techie best known for his first novel, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1979). Chosen from over 2,579 entries, magazine pieces, Web site squibs, etc., the collection's longest piece is "The Salmon of Doubt," ten chapters selected and rearranged from those Adams wrote over a ten-year period for his novel-in-progress, the third book in the Dirk Gently Holistic Detective Agency series that also included The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul (1989). A long prologue, written in 2000 by British journalist Nicholas Wroe, includes much interview material and gives a sketch of Adams's life and ebullience, of his writing venues and love of Monty Python, his first $2 million-dollar contract with an American publisher while he was still in his mid-20s, his adored but angst-ridden fallow periods, which required much gadget-buying, and so on. The pieces here bounce with charm: Adams discourses on awaiting his favorite magazine at 12, his endless love affair with the Beatles, his curiously substantial nose that will not admit air, the refreshing shock of reading Richard Dawkins on evolution, dogs excitedly hurling themselves against walls, "The Little Computer That Could," his radical atheism, whiskey, the writing life, the rhinoceros, Bach, and "The Private Life of Genghis Khan" (written with Monty Python's Graham Chapman). Also included: his introduction to The Meaning of Liff and a superb appreciation of P.G. Wodehouse's unfinished last novel, Sunset at Blandings. Fans will dig the paranormal but incomplete "The Salmon of Doubt" itself. Dirk Gently first turns down then accepts a job to find the missing half of a Siamese cat whose front half conducts itself as if the aft half were still there. Among Dirk's friends is Thor, the ancient Norse God of Thunder, who bellows into telephones from ten feet off, "which made actual conversation well-nigh impossible." A beautiful sendoff, Douglas, wherever you are. (Kirkus Reviews)

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