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Review: The Salmon of Doubt
TLC
UKFDB | 2004-04-10
“We notice things that don’t work. We don’t notice things that do. We notice computers, we don’t notice pennies. We don’t notice e-book readers, we don’t notice books.”
This is an unusual book, as rather than being a single story, it is a collection of interviews, articles, letters and other miscellaneous writings, taken off Adams computer when that great man died. As such it provides a fascinating insight into how he thought and what ideas lay behind his work. For example, before reading this I had no idea he was a ‘radical atheist’ but once you know this, the jokes about God and zebra crossings or the Electric monk suddenly gain a whole other layer of meaning. (If you don’t know what I’m talking about, then go and read Douglas Adams’ science-fiction, from start to finish, something I think people should do anyway, but then I’m a self-confessed fan.)
The problem I have with trying to review Adam’s work is that I want to quote large chunks of it at you, whether it be about Macintosh computers or giant manta rays, whether for its humour or its innate truth. For example, he ends his piece on the walking in Africa in a rhino suit by saying,
“We are not the only species to have caused devastation to the rest of the world, and it must be said in our favour that we are the only one that has become aware of the consequences of our behaviour and tried to do something about it. However, I reflect as I shift the costume back into a comfortable walking position and squint forward over its bobbing plastic horn, we do go about it in some odd ways.”
Not necessary funny, but definitely true and worth saying. This collection provides an insight into Adams life as well as his work, and I was left with the impression that he was not just a good writer, but also a good person, which is far more important in the end.
Adams is frequently funny, but his writings can also be moving, or serious or thought provoking, depending on the subject matter and on which approach he thinks, funny or serious will best achieve his aim. Where he really excels in these non-fictional pieces is in writing about serious matters in a humorous, but effective and thought provoking manner, which is probably much more effective than just being serious.
So, back to my desire to quote large junks of Adams at you, I have tried to keep it to minimum. After all, when a friend of mine got the book she typed two complete pages about his nose into an email, as she just had to share it with someone, and I was the nearest fellow fan. I know the feeling. (Maybe we should set up a Hitchhikers Anonymous help group.) Of course, if I was to write about my nose it would be dull and possibly insane, Adams does it and it is witty and entertaining, that’s what made him a genius. Also, if I were to start emailing people large sections of Adams it would probably consist of his essay on why the Americans don’t understand tea.
Talking of fans, if you are just a casual reader of Adams, then this probably isn’t the book for, because it is full of his other concerns, for whatever he was doing he seems to have written about it. His three main passions are science, conservation and technology (specifically new gizmos and Macintosh computers). This is a book that can be dipped into freely, and I know I will go back and re-read many sections. It is not a coherent whole (it would be very weird if it was) so if you are looking for an autobiography or even a comprehensive collection of his shorter works, you will not find it here.
The final section of this book is the Salmon of Doubt an unfinished novel that Adams was working on at the time of his death, and for a number of years before that according to his records. This made me grin broadly and without shame, not a mean feat when you are reading it on the commuter train on a Wednesday afternoon. Adams proves he could return to a theme and to characters that he has written before and still be fresh and original, (I cant readily think of a time when Adams is unoriginal). What I especially liked was the reappearance of characters from the second book, namely Thor and Kate, and the brief glimpse into their lives is sufficient to paint a whole picture of living with a Norse god in modern day London. However, its half-finished creates a sense of loss and sadness. For I will never know what happened to the missing half a cat, and I will never get to see Dirk Gently being charged by a three ton rhino.
Well that’s it for now, sorry it got a bit long, it is due to a mix of enthusiasm about the book and regret that this will be the last new work by Douglas Adams that I will have the chance to review. I'm off now to re-read the Dirk Gently novels, if I cant have new Adams I will have to settle for the old stuff. Also I will try and track down Last Chance to See, Adams book on endangered species, apparently his favourite thing that he wrote and the hardest to find. I figure that if he thought it was so good it’s got to be worth a read.
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