Saturday 18 September 2010

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a classic, and as such, is very hard to write a review for. What can I possibly say that hasn't been said before? Add to that the fact that it's awesome, in a way that I can't really put my finger on, and you've got a terrible case of Reviewer's Block.

So, I've sat around pretending to be writing this review for a long time, when all I really want to say is: “This book is awesome! Go read it!” - There it is, I've said it.

The story follows Arthur Dent, who is quite annoyed because his house is going to be demolished to make way for an overpass. Of course that should be the least of his problems because Earth is going to be demolished to make way for an overpass. What follows is a parade of nonsense, surreal moments, funny stories and much wackiness.

To elaborate more on the awesomeness of the book, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is extremely funny, described by the author as “a story with a long beginning and then an ending”, which is true, but causes no problem for the reader. You just want to keep on reading more and more. It is filled with so much nonsense, that it ends up making perfect sense. More than a story, it a Universe, one that is most fun to be in. Sometimes is not so much about the characters and their plight, but where they are and how they got there. That being said, I loved the characters, all of them.

If there is any down side to this book is that it feels terribly short (I want more! Now!), but that's is easily rectified as there are four more books in this trilogy (written by Douglas Adams, that is – there is a sixth one by Eoin Colfer). I will be getting my hands on them as soon as I can.

Now, go read this book!

(4.5/5)

6 comments:

  1. Finally!

    I guess this is one of those books that were lucky enough to be well adapted into a movie, making a person want to read the book after seeing it. Rare thing!

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  2. There are a lot of "extras" on my edition about the movie, so I was able to learn a bit about it as well.

    Apparently a movie had been planned for a long time, with Douglas Adams writing a fair number of scripts that were turned down. There is a lot in the movie that doesn't happen in this book, but it still came out of his head.

    It also helps that this wasn't a book originally, but a radio series, so it was a bit closer to the movie format.

    Nevertheless it was a great movie, and they had great actors to play the parts. Bill Nighy as Slartibartfast was pure genius.

    But, yeah, the movie makes you want to read the book, and the book makes you want to watch the movie and read the other books.

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  3. I really have to get this. It’s on my list but it always gets put back for something else.

    Have you read John Dies at the End? Brilliant book. :P

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  4. It's the problem with books with such a good reputation: you want to read them, but you always seem to avoid reading them. I think in my case was because I was so afraid I wouldn't like it.

    I haven't read John Dies at the End, but I've added it to my wishlist now.

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  5. Hmmm ... but I didn't liked the movie. In fact, I didn't even finish watching. LOL.

    Still, I must say that I'm still very curious about a book that I've heard so much about. Even the movie hasn't totally made me give up on it. :-)

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  6. Hmm, I don't know then. You might like the book, but what is in the book is in the movie (and not all that is in the movie is in the book). But the book is small and very easy to read, so even if you don't like, you won't have spent that long on the book.

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