Sunday, October 14, 2012

Rashmi bookmarks “The Salmon of Doubt”


The Salmon of Doubt: Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time is a posthumously published collection of Douglas Adams’ notes, excerpts, speeches, interviews, journal entries… what Stephen Fry refers to as his “bottom drawer”. I already knew that he was a very funny man; I now got to see a man who was well read, intelligent, and always questioning; a man who had a great passion for traveling and a great love of technology. I have developed a deeper admiration for this man, and that was a very moving experience.

All the matter in this book has been categorized into three sections - Life, The Universe, And Everything. (By the way, I have to say that I was thrilled to see the Foreword by Stephen Fry. He has introduced all the P.G. Wodehouse books I have read/own, and so I know that he recognizes true wit. It was fitting that he should have his say here as well).

“Life” is a collection of little snippets of Adams’ life. A remarkable introduction to P.G. Wodehouse’s Sunset at Blandings; a look at some funny boyhood experiences arising from his exceptional height (he grew to be 6 feet, 5 inches); his great fascination for the Beatles; teaching children the difference between Friday and fried egg and teaching Americans how to make tea; calling the lame ‘placeholder’ lyrics of “La a note to follow so” one of the great unfinished businesses of this century; talking about his travels around the world including a fascinating ride on a Sub Bug along with manta rays in Australia… this section was a wonderful glimpse into the heart and mind of Douglas Adams.

“The Universe” focuses on two main concepts: Technology and Religion / God. From the former we get to know how passionate Adams was about gadgets and gizmos! From the latest in computers to the greatest in cameras, he kept up with the most up-to-date in technology. The other chapters deal with his views on Religion and God. ‘Is There an Artificial God?’ - the speech he gave at Digital Biota 2 in September of 1998 - was a phenomenal read. An “out-and-out atheist” as he called himself, Douglas Adams explores the concept of God - where and why it originated, its importance in shaping the history of mankind, and its relevance in a scientific world.

“And Everything” contains various interviews as well as letters (one of my favourite sections was the frustrated letter Douglas Adams wrote to David Vogel of Walt Disney Pictures, after being strung along for about 20 years, while Hollywood was trying - or not trying, it seems - to make a movie out of the hugely successful book The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy)! The highlight of this section was of course The Salmon of Doubt assembled from various versions of this work-in-progress. The search for half a cat; a friendship with Thunder God Thor; a dog named Kierkegaard; a mysterious weekly deposit of over ₤3000; a botched stalking; a carjacking at gunpoint; a forecast about meeting a rhinoceros named Desmond - that actually comes true; a haunted manor… it is a pity this book could not get completed - it would have been awesome.

Richard Dawkins’ epilogue read like I imagine news of Douglas Adams’ death would have: a rude interruption of joyous reading. It was an honour to go inside the mind of the man that created such a unique world, combining the best of science fiction and comedy.

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