MetaChat - Which Hitchhiker's book is this from?

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24 June 2005

Which Hitchhiker's book is this from? There is a line in one of the Douglas Adams books, and I personally think it is the most beautiful sentence ever constructed (kind of like that whole "cellar door" thing). Something about "the sound of the rain on the roof of the shack"...

It's the book where the gang visits the man in charge of the universe... Which one was that? And is there any place online to search full-text of Adams' work?

post by: ArsncHeart at: 14:38 | 7 comments

Gawd forgive me... I should know this! It's not "So Long and Thanks for All the Fish", is it?

posted by Doohickie 24 June | 14:53

I think it's The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.

posted by iconomy 24 June | 14:55

Is this it?

The rain pelted and danced on the corrugated iron roof of the small shack that stood in the middle of this patch of scrubby land.

From here.

posted by iconomy 24 June | 15:03

My leatherbound edition of the Hitchhiker books has the following on the binding:

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe
...then a little later...
The Restaurant at the End of the Galaxy

Ya think such a misprint makes the edition more valuable? Maybe I should ebay it.

posted by Doohickie 24 June | 15:17

iconomy - that wasn't the exact sentence I was thinking of, but I found it on that page:

"The noise of the rain on the roof of the shack was deafening within, but went largely unnoticed by its occupant, whose attention was otherwise engaged."

Thank you so much! No matter how many times I re-read the series, that sentence always makes me stop and think about how beautiful writing can be...I think it's the rhythm of the words.

posted by ArsncHeart 24 June | 15:17

Russian disdain for copyright is a very useful thing.

posted by languagehat 24 June | 16:23

*holds up a lighter and bows his head for Adams*

posted by papercake 24 June | 16:49

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