This was a weird one. It started off weird and although it made much more sense by the end, I still had to look up explanations for some of what happened. A few questions remain, some of which are too spoilery to describe.
Speaking of, how does one describe this book? That’s more than just a rhetorical question – I’m really not sure. The first several chapter seem disjointed, but later you learn how they are all connected (although I still don’t understand the first line of “This time there would be no witnesses,” so if any of you have read it and can help me out, that would be great). The book involves various science fiction elements, is mostly set in Cambridgeshire, England, and primarily revolves around Richard MacDuff, a computer programmer. It’s quite a ways through this relatively short book before Dirk Gently makes an appearance, although he is referenced earlier. Dirk appears to be something of an expert on the paranormal but is making his living as a detective by conning his clients. But no one seems to actually fork over any money, so while he’s not the most moral of characters, at least no one is really being harmed.
For those who like poetry or music, there are ample references to Coleridge and to how patterns in nature can be musical. We even find out who the man from Porlock was – or rather Adams makes him up.
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the book considering my confusion at the beginning, but I was able to start piecing things together and making guesses, and it’s just an entertaining read. As a psychologist with training in hypnotherapy, I can be nitpicky about how hypnosis is portrayed, and at first its incorporation in the book raised my hackles, but later it was talked about in a realistic way that I appreciated. I still wonder why the Electric Monk needs to eat and drink, given that its name is an accurate descriptor (but its nutritional needs have no bearing on the novel). The Monk was also sometimes referred to as “he” and other times as “it,” but I suspect this was an error that wasn’t caught in editing; the changing pronouns didn’t seem to serve a purpose, but it threw me off in the beginning because at that point I didn’t know what was and was not meaningful.
I would definitely recommend this, and now I’m off to read the sequel, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul.
(By the way, yes, a horse does show up in a bathroom.)