I finished reading Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency in two days flat and the only reason I wish I hadn’t was so I could go back and take it slow. Nobody writes like Douglas Adams. Always 5 stars from me.
Title: Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency
Author: Douglas Adams
Genre: Classics, Mystery, Time Travel
Publication Date: May 15, 1987
Review Date: September 25, 2017 // June 29, 2026
Number of Pages: 306 (paperback)
My Rating: 5.0/5
Buy here:
Book Blurb of Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency:
What do a dead cat, a computer whiz-kid, an Electric Monk who believes the world is pink, quantum mechanics, a Chronologist over 200 years old, Samuel Taylor Coleridge (poet), and pizza have in common? Apparently not much; until Dirk Gently, self-styled private investigator, sets out to prove the fundamental interconnectedness of all things by solving a mysterious murder, assisting a mysterious professor, unravelling a mysterious mystery, and eating a lot of pizza – not to mention saving the entire human race from extinction along the way (at no extra charge). To find out more, read this book (better still, buy it, then read it) – or contact Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. ‘A thumping good detective-ghost-horror-whodunnit-time travel-romantic-musical-comedy epic.’
Book Review of Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency:
I have loved Douglas Adams ever since he wrote the Hitchhikers series and I obsessively consumed the entire set in a matter of days. His writing style drives me crazy, and I always wonder, how can anyone write like that? Is it even possible? I mean, it clearly is, because he DID write like that, but still. He puts together ideas and concepts in such a fantastical manner, it seems like he is perpetually on something. The unreal fantasy in this book reminds me a bit of the Lemony Snicket series, which is also something I absolutely adored.
This book touches on time travel, ghosts, paradoxes and more – I mean just look at the cover. It is ALL the science fiction with none of the boring overused tropes. Seemingly unrelated and often bizarre events turn out to be connected by what Dirk calls “the fundamental interconnectedness of all things”.
I finished reading Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency in two days flat and the only reason I wish I hadn’t was so I could go back and take it slow. Actually relish the sheer witty craziness or crazy wittiness.
I did go back and read parts of it. Well, most of it. Okay, I went back and read the entire thing. Slower. And since I knew the ending this time round, I read it all in a different light.
So yes, I do recommend reading this. And I recommend reading it twice. Nobody writes like Douglas Adams. Nobody.
Who I do recommend Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency for?
- Fans of Douglas Adams
- enjoyers of bizarre stories
- people who really like the idea of the fundamental interconnectedness of all things
- maybe Doctor Who fans?
- if you like time travel stories
- if you’ve read it before and forgotten
- if you enjoyed the tv show and want something kind of similar but not really at all
On re-reading…
If we’re connected on Instagram at @ohjustbooks, you’ll see my friend got me a vintage edition from 1988 so now I’m reading it for the third time, because how could I not? I must say I’d forgotten some things and completely forgot a couple of characters – and I think that’s because the Dirk Gently tv series was so so different from the book, and I watched that show much later compared to when I first read the book.
So it was quite nice to go “oh yeaaahhh that” every once in a while, and be taken by surprise by quite a few elements. I do recommend re-reading books you like, especially if you haven’t in a few years.
