''So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish'' is the fourth book of the ''
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''
"trilogy of six books" written by
Douglas Adams
Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author, humorist, and screenwriter, best known as the creator of ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 BBC radio comedy, ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the ...
. Its title is the message left by the
dolphin
A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...
s when they departed Planet
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
just before it was demolished to make way for a
hyperspace
In science fiction, hyperspace (also known as nulspace, subspace, overspace, jumpspace and similar terms) is a concept relating to higher dimensions as well as parallel universes and a faster-than-light (FTL) method of interstellar travel ...
bypass, as described in ''
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' is a Science fiction comedy, comedy science fiction franchise created by Douglas Adams. Originally a The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series), radio sitcom broadcast over two series on BBC ...
''. A
song of the same name was featured in the 2005 film adaptation of ''
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' is a Science fiction comedy, comedy science fiction franchise created by Douglas Adams. Originally a The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series), radio sitcom broadcast over two series on BBC ...
''.
Plot summary
While hitchhiking through the galaxy,
Arthur Dent
Arthur Philip Dent is a fictional character and the hapless protagonist of the comic science fiction series ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' by Douglas Adams.
In the radio, LP and television versions of the story, Arthur is played b ...
is dropped off on a planet in a rainstorm. He appears to be in
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
on Earth, even though he had seen the planet destroyed by the
Vogon
The Vogons are a fictional alien race from the planet Vogsphere in ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''—initially a BBC Radio series by Douglas Adams—who are responsible for the destruction of the Earth, in order to facilitate an interga ...
s. He has been gone for several years, but only a few months have passed on Earth. He
hitches a lift with a man named Russell and his sister
Fenchurch (nicknamed "Fenny"). Russell explains that Fenny, who is sitting in a drugged state in the back seat of the car, became delusional after worldwide
mass hysteria
Mass psychogenic illness (MPI), also called mass sociogenic illness, mass psychogenic disorder, epidemic hysteria or mass hysteria, involves the spread of illness symptoms through a population where there is no infectious agent responsible for c ...
, in which everyone hallucinated "big yellow spaceships" (the Vogon destructor ships that "demolished" the Earth). Arthur becomes curious about Fenchurch, but he is dropped off before he can ask more questions. Inside his inexplicably undamaged home, Arthur finds a gift-wrapped bowl inscribed with the words "So long and thanks for all the fish", into which he puts his
Babel Fish. Arthur thinks that Fenchurch is somehow connected to him and to the Earth's destruction. He still has the ability to fly whenever he lets his thoughts wander.
Arthur puts his life in order, and then tries to find out more about Fenchurch. He happens to find her hitchhiking and picks her up. He obtains her phone number, but shortly thereafter loses it. He discovers her home by accident when he searches for the cave in which he had lived on prehistoric Earth; Fenchurch's flat is built on the same spot. Arthur and Fenchurch find more circumstances connecting them. Fenchurch reveals that, moments before her "hallucinations", she had an
epiphany
Epiphany may refer to:
Psychology
* Epiphany (feeling), an experience of sudden and striking insight
Religion
* Epiphany (holiday), a Christian holiday celebrating the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ
** Epiphany seaso ...
about how to make everything right, but then blacked out. She has not been able to recall the substance of the epiphany. Eventually discovering that Fenchurch's feet do not touch the ground, Arthur teaches her how to fly. They have sex in the skies over London.
In her conversation with Arthur, Fenchurch learns about his adventures hitchhiking across the galaxy, and Arthur learns that all the dolphins disappeared shortly after the world hallucinations. Arthur and Fenchurch travel to California to see John Watson, an enigmatic scientist who claims to know why the dolphins disappeared. Watson has abandoned his original name in favour of "Wonko the Sane", because he believes that the rest of the world's population has gone mad. Watson shows them another bowl with the words "So long and thanks for all the fish" inscribed on it, and encourages them to listen to it. The bowl explains audibly that the dolphins, aware of the planet's coming destruction, left Earth for an alternate dimension. Before leaving, they pulled the Earth from a parallel universe into this one and transported everyone and everything onto it from the one about to be destroyed. After the meeting, Fenchurch tells Arthur that, while he lost something and later found it, she found something and later lost it. She desires that they travel to space together, and that they reach the site where God's Final Message to His Creation is written.
Ford Prefect
The Ford Prefect is a line of British cars which was produced by Ford UK between 1938 and 1961 as an upmarket version of the Ford Popular and Ford Anglia small family cars. It was introduced in October 1938 and remained in production until ...
discovers that the ''Hitchhiker's Guide'' entry for Earth has been updated to include the volumes of text that he originally wrote, instead of the previous truncated entry, "Mostly harmless". Curious, Ford hitchhikes across the galaxy to reach Earth. Eventually he uses the ship of a giant robot to land in the centre of London, causing a panic. In the chaos, Ford reunites with Arthur and the two of them and Fenchurch commandeer the robot's ship. Arthur takes Fenchurch to the planet where God's Final Message to His Creation is written, where they discover
Marvin. Due to previous events, Marvin is now approximately 37 times older than the known age of the universe and is barely functional. With Arthur's and Fenchurch's help, Marvin reads the Message ("We apologise for the inconvenience"), utters the final words "I think... I feel good about it", and dies happily.
Style and themes
The novel has a very different
tone
Tone may refer to:
Visual arts and color-related
* Tone (color theory), a mix of tint and shade, in painting and color theory
* Tone (color), the lightness or brightness (as well as darkness) of a color
* Toning (coin), color change in coins
* ...
from the previous books in the series. It is a
romance, and also moves around in time more erratically than its predecessors. It is set largely on Earth; Arthur only returns to outer space in the final chapters. The different tone also reflects the rushed nature of the writing; Adams's editor
Sonny Mehta
Ajai Singh "Sonny" Mehta (9 November 1942McFadden, Robert D. (31 December 2019) ''The New York Times''. – 30 December 2019) was a British and American editor. Mehta was the editor-in-chief of Alfred A. Knopf and chairman of the Knopf Doubleday ...
moved in with him to ensure that the book met its deadline, which had been repeatedly extended. As a result, Adams later stated that he was not entirely happy with the book, which includes several jarring authorial intrusions, which his biographer
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman (; born Neil Richard Gaiman; 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, audio theatre, and screenplays. His works include the comic series ''The Sandman (comic book), The Sandma ...
described as "patronising and unfair".
The book also reflects a significant shift in Adams's view of computers. In the previous books, computers had been portrayed quite negatively, reflecting Adams's views on the subject at the time. However, between the writing of ''Life, the Universe and Everything'' and ''So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish'', his attitude toward technology changed considerably. Having been taken to a computer fair, he became enamored of the first model of the
Macintosh
Mac is a brand of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 1984. The name is short for Macintosh (its official name until 1999), a reference to the McIntosh (apple), McIntosh apple. The current product lineup inclu ...
, the start of a long love affair with the brand (he claimed to have bought two of the first three Macs in the UK, the other being bought by his friend
Stephen Fry
Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of ...
). In ''So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish'', Arthur Dent purchases an Apple computer for the purpose of star mapping in order to pinpoint the location of the cave he lived in on prehistoric Earth, and although Adams mocks Arthur's methodology (noting that he really has no idea of how to go about such a task), the computer itself is not disparaged, and produces the correct result despite Arthur's haphazard approach. In a later essay, Adams noted that some people had accused him of being a "
turncoat
A Turncoat, also known as a Turncloak, is a person who shifts allegiance from one loyalty or ideal to another, betraying or deserting an original cause by switching to the opposing side or party. In political and social history, this is distinc ...
" because of this change in his attitudes.
Literary significance and reception
In 1993, ''
Library Journal
''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...
'' said that ''So Long, and Thanks for all the Fish'' was "filled with loopy humor and pretzel logic that makes Adams' writing so delightful". Betsy Shorb, reviewing for ''
School Library Journal
''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, wi ...
'', said that "the humor is still off-the-wall but more gentle than the other books. The plot is more straight forward and slightly less bizarre than its predecessors".
Dave Langford
David Rowland Langford (born 10 April 1953) is a British author, editor, and critic, largely active within the science fiction field. He publishes the science-fiction fanzine and newsletter ''Ansible'' and holds the all-time record for most Hug ...
reviewed ''So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish'' for ''
White Dwarf
A white dwarf is a Compact star, stellar core remnant composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter. A white dwarf is very density, dense: in an Earth sized volume, it packs a mass that is comparable to the Sun. No nuclear fusion takes place i ...
'' #62, and stated that "Sequelholism has drained Adams of his high-speed inventiveness which made him famous. No doubt he'll agree with me all the way to the bank".
Audiobook adaptations
There have been three audiobook recordings of the novel. The first was an abridged edition, recorded in the mid-1980s by
Stephen Moore, best known for playing the voice of
Marvin the Paranoid Android
Marvin the Paranoid Android is a fictional character in ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' series by Douglas Adams. Marvin is the ship's robot aboard the starship ''Heart of Gold''. Originally built as one of many failed prototypes of Sir ...
in the radio series, LP adaptations and in the TV series. In 1990, Adams himself recorded an unabridged edition, later re-released by New Millennium Audio in the United States and available from BBC Audiobooks in the United Kingdom. In 2006, actor
Martin Freeman
Martin John Christopher Freeman (born 8 September 1971) is an English actor. Among other accolades, he has won two Emmy Awards, a BAFTA Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award, and has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award.
Freeman's most ...
, who had played
Arthur Dent
Arthur Philip Dent is a fictional character and the hapless protagonist of the comic science fiction series ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' by Douglas Adams.
In the radio, LP and television versions of the story, Arthur is played b ...
in the 2005 movie, recorded a new unabridged edition of the audiobook.
The Quandary Phase of the radio series is drawn from ''So Long and Thanks for All the Fish'', but is not a direct audiobook reading.
Dedication
The dedication thanks, among others, "Mogens and Andy and all at
Huntsham Court
Huntsham Court is a Grade II* listed country house in Huntsham, Devon, England. Built in 1868–70, it was designed in the Tudor Gothic style by Benjamin Ferrey for Charles Troyte. It was then the home of his son and local Member of parliament, M ...
for a number of unstable events". This refers to the then country hotel in Devon where Adams retreated in the summer of 1984 to work on the book but instead enjoyed drinking wine with the owners and
Steve Meretzky who had joined him to work on the ''
Hitchhiker's'' video game.
In popular culture
* In 1997, American punk rock band
NOFX
NOFX () was an American punk rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983. Bassist/lead vocalist Fat Mike, rhythm guitarist Eric Melvin and drummer Erik Sandin were original founding and longest-serving members of the band, who have appeared on every ...
named their seventh studio album
So Long and Thanks for All the Shoes
''So Long and Thanks for All the Shoes'' is the seventh studio album by the American punk rock band NOFX. It was released through Epitaph Records October 21, 1997, in the United States, and November 4, 1997, in Europe.
Overview
The title is insp ...
in an obvious homage to this book.
* In 2018, American rock band
A Perfect Circle
A Perfect Circle is an American Rock music, rock Supergroup (music), supergroup formed in Los Angeles, California in 1999 by guitarist Billy Howerdel and Tool (band), Tool vocalist Maynard James Keenan. A Perfect Circle released three of their ...
released a song titled "
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish" as a single off their album ''Eat the Elephant''.
See also
*''
Kiitoksia kaloista'', a species of protozoa named after the book.
Footnotes
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish
1984 British novels
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy novels
British science fiction novels
Novels by Douglas Adams
Fiction about dolphins
Comic science fiction novels
British comedy novels
Pan Books books
Harmony Books books