Review: The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul

The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul by Douglas Adams

I read this book after reading American Gods by Neil Gaiman, and that after reading Gaiman’s Norse Mythology. All without knowing what the books were supposed to be about. I picked up the book through random sales and happen to read them in this order.

Serendipity.

Were I Mr. Dirk Gently, this would induce me to believe in the “Zen” method of book selection similar to his “Zen” method of navigation.

Read this book for its jokes, British sensibilities (mockingly so - It IS Douglas Adams), and wacky characters with zany powers that seems to appear without logic.

I think the weakest part of this book is the central plot. It seems to climax and resolve itself without much fanfare and if you blinked, you’d have missed it. There is a monologue from the villain that explained it all and tied up the loose ends (see: Just Between You and Me and What You Are in the Dark). But in the end, I am still no clear on what “the contract” was.

Recommended with reservation.