I’ve decided to do a series of postings based on a letter from the alphabet. A new letter for each week. This week’s letter is “A.”
Therefore I will be reviewing a book by an author who’s last name starts with “A,” Douglas Adams.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is one of the most inventive science fiction books I have ever read. It is a comedy, which to me makes it even more fun. I do not like the trend of science fiction stories equaling sad and depressing stories. If I read something I want to enjoy it and feel good afterwards. The HHGTTG does exactly that.
The basic story, for those of you who have not already read it (and if so, why not? Go and read it immediately), is that Arthur Dent is a normal person who has a normal life and an alien friend. His house is about to be knocked down but it doesn’t matter because the world is about to end. The rest of the story after the first couple of chapters is about Arthur and Ford Prefect traipsing around the galaxy for no apparent reason. There is also no real conflict (well, there is conflict but there is no point to it), solution or point to the story.
All of these sound like terrible things to have in a book, but they actually work really well together. The excerpts from the Guide itself are often snarky and always amusing.
All of these components add up to the sum of one of my favorite stories of all time. This book may be the only cool thing to come out of the eighties.
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