So Long and Thanks for All the Fish by Douglas Adams and read by Martin Freeman

Summary from Goodreads:

Back on Earth with nothing more to show for his long, strange trip through time and space than a ratty towel and a plastic shopping bag, Arthur Dent is ready to believe that the past eight years were all just a figment of his stressed-out imagination. But a gift-wrapped fishbowl with a cryptic inscription, the mysterious disappearance of Earth's dolphins, and the discovery of his battered copy of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy all conspire to give Arthur the sneaking suspicion that something otherworldly is indeed going on. . . .

God only knows what it all means. And fortunately, He left behind a Final Message of explanation. But since it's light-years away from Earth, on a star surrounded by souvenir booths, finding out what it is will mean hitching a ride to the far reaches of space aboard a UFO with a giant robot. But what else is new?

Review:

So, I definitely think this was the weirdest book in the series. I thought the other stories were strange at times. This one was like the others, but on acid. Seriously. It included naked, flying sex scenes in the clouds. And, there were inside out houses. And final messages from God (which was sort of disappointing).  And a guy who brings rain with him everywhere he goes. Yet, I think it’s actually one of my favorite books in the series (maybe it’s my second favorite after the first book).

I had some serious “Woa!” moments in this book where a lot of things clicked. But, I also had some serious frustrated moments too. Like, I thought Earth was gone…How is Arthur there? And how does Fenchurch know something else must have happened? I loved how important the dolphins ended up being. The message they left in the fishbowls had me laughing out loud for several minutes.

So much about this book had me laughing out loud for several minutes. When aliens finally land on earth, a robot comes out of the ship and says, “I come in peace. Take me to your lizard.” Apparently, on his planet, lizards were the ones in charge…I also loved when Arthur kept trying to write a check to his favorite charity, to save the dolphins and the charity kept telling him to get out. He didn’t understand that all the dolphins had gone.

I liked that there was finally a little romance element to the story. It was nice seeing Arthur happy. It was also nice seeing Arthur as the more rational one in comparison to Ford Prefect. I loved when Ford met Fenchurch. I loved when Marvin came back into the picture. He had to explain to Arthur that he couldn’t be fixed with any more pieces. That over the millions of years, everything had been replaced except for one thing. The one thing that caused him pain in book 1…that he mentioned to Arthur and wished could be replaced all those millions of years ago. Oh, Marvin…

I think I’m going to end my reading of this series here because I like where things ended. My library system doesn’t have the last book on audio book. But, also, I have researched this series and this author. I know that the author’s last book is miserable and ends with a lot of death. Apparently, he always intended to write one more that brought everyone back in a happy note. He commented in interviews that he was in a bad mood while writing it. But, he passed away before writing that happy book. That is pretty much my worst nightmare in regards to authors and series. So, I think it’s healthier overall to end it here.

I’ve had an amazingly fun journey listening to all of them. I loved listening to Martin Freeman every day. I loved the characters, the humor, the setting, the absurdity, the strangeness, and the deeper levels of philosophy achieved here. All in all, I give this one a 9/10 (and I probably give the whole series a 9/10 also).