[thom]

I consider myself an enormous Douglas Adam’s fan, but I only really enjoy the original radio series of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, so I don’t think I can get too uppity about your comment. I’m not sure I’d call it depressing though, if anything it’s absurd in the tradition of Camus, and lit up my world during some bleak periods in my youth. The cultural impact of those early works is still enormous, at least in the UK, so I can’t begrudge the later works, and I still find the end of So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish quite moving.

[lukan]

"I still find the end of So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish quite moving."

Moving, but maybe still depressing?

So warning of spoilers, but Arthurs sole mission is to find the place he is supposed to visit, before he can finally die. (His only wish because his girlfriend vanished from existence)

And in the end he finds the place, which is not what anyone expected and they indeed all die, including his daughter.

After they concluded, there is no other place, no other home, because, every other place is also falling apart. Pretty dark ending in my opinion.

[thom]

That's Mostly Harmless, and yes, Adams was quite depressed when he wrote it. I still don't hate that ending - I segued in my youth from these books straight into existential philosophy (I was a tiresome bore then and still am, apologies) and I could very much sympathise with Ford at the end finding it all hilarious. But you could easily stop reading at So Long and feel quite satisfied no matter your outlook, I think, even after shedding some tears for Marvin.

[lukan]

Ah yes, "thanks for the fish" was rather the book of unusual luck happening to poor Arthur.

But I also don't hate the ending of "Mostly harmless". It is a fitting end alltogether. Absurd and dark, just like the very beginning of the books are.